The Heart of Dixie
by gillyflower34
Summary: Sequel to Gone for Good and Here to Stay. Fifteen years after the final battle with the wolves, the survivors have carved out lives for themselves. Little do they know they are about to face a threat more evil than any of them could ever imagine. Only the Alexandria Seven can stand against it, but it will take the heart of Dixie to bring them together. Rated M for sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

Dixie

Today was her fifteenth birthday. She had woken up to find a small present next to her bedside. It was a beautiful gold necklace that one of her fathers had given to her mother years ago. Dixie reached up to her throat to feel for it, making sure it was still there. The real party would come next month when they all celebrated together. People called them the Alexandria Seven or sometimes the New Start Babies. They had all been born within months of each other shortly after the final battle with the Wolves and each child had been named after a loved one that had passed away. The celebration of their births was really a celebration of hope and new beginnings for the whole community. When she was born her mother had given her a whopper mouthful of a name, Dolores Augustine after both of her grandparents. But for as long as she could remember everyone had just called her Dixie. There was a story her parents liked to tell her about how she got the nickname, and it was a favorite of everyone in the family.

As her mother explained it, her older brother MJ had always been a difficult child when he was young. He had not taken kindly to having to share his mother's time and affection with a younger sibling. MJ always smiled big during that part of the story, like he was proud of being a brat. And no matter how her mother tried to teach him to be nice, he set out on a mission to torture and destroy his sister as soon as she learned how to crawl. Dixie was too young to remember any of this. As long as she knew her older brother had been her friend and protector. But her mother told that didn't happen until she was about two years old and she had finally stood up to him. MJ had taken whatever toy she was playing with and given her a hard pinch on the arm. Her daddy Daryl told her that he had seen the determined look on her face, the same one her mother got when someone was about to get their ass handed to them. When RickyJo moved to correct the situation and scold her brother, Daryl held her back. Dixie had picked up a doll with a hard plastic head and walked over to where her brother was playing with his stolen prize, his back turned to her. She had knocked him to the ground with a forceful blow to the head, swinging the doll by the feet. Then she had taken her toy back and aimed carefully with her tiny foot in its pink leather shoe to give her brother a hard kick in the rump. Her mother had started laughing and both her fathers had been clapping. Daddy Merle had leaned over MJ and told him, "that's what happens when you mess with a lady Dixon." And thus her nickname was born.

Dixie looked around to make sure no one was watching her and then poked into the straw of the hen house with a long stick. Sometimes snakes liked to hide in there, to eat the eggs and even the chickens if they were big enough, and Dixie hated snakes more than any other creature on earth. But she knew if her cousin Jenny saw her poking around in there like a real scare baby, she would laugh at her. The two girls were actually second cousins, but they had grown up in the same house and their mothers had raised them up more like sisters, just like their Nana had done for them all those years ago. Jenny's birthday had been about two weeks ago. And the next one after hers was Hershel, the only boy out of the seven. His was not for about another two weeks though.

Just thinking about snakes made her skin crawl and she tried to take the memory of what happened the week before and push it down. She had to have imagined it anyway, there was no way it could have been real. Walkers just didn't do things like that.

A small group of people had gone outside the wall to do some foraging in the woods. Dixie had gotten a little further away from the group than she should have, but she had seen a big patch of dandelions and wanted to pick them. Her Daddy Merle made wine with them and if there was some left, her mom sometimes made jelly out of them too. She had been picking and picking, filling up her whole bucket with the small yellow flowers. Then she had seen the walker. They didn't come in big herds anymore like they used to when she was little, but seeing one wasn't exactly a novelty. The only thing unusual about its outward appearance was that it had a large smear of some kind of reddish orange powder across its forehead. It was what it did that scared her.

The thing came toward her, and unlike most, the way it was walking seemed more purposeful. She got her knife out, waiting for it to get close. But when it was a few feet away, it stopped and stood there staring at her. She could feel the hair on her arms stand up and the sweat was pouring down her back and into her pants, wetting the waistband. Then the thing leaned down and picked up a garter snake. Its arms moved with strange jerking motions, like a puppet on strings. It held the snake up, looking into its face, then it turned and hurled the snake at her. She had screamed like crazy and smacked the snake away, and then the walker was coming at her, its face twisted up into a terrible goulish grin. Her brother had heard her scream and come running, firing an arrow at the monster and dropping it instantly.

"You okay?," he asked her. She had thrown herself into his arms, her body shaking. When she looked, the snake was gone. Her brother held her at arms length. "You are really too old to be screaming like that over one freakin' biter Dixie," he told her, "next time just stab them in the head like I showed you." Dixie nodded. She did not say anything to him about what she had seen. If she had she was sure he would think she had gone totally fruity. She really didn't even want to admit to herself what she had seen, but she had been waking up in the night drenched in sweat from the nightmares.

She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts of the strange walker out of it and headed to the next hen house, using her stick again to check for snakes. Then it was off to collect the eggs from the ducks, geese and turkeys and make sure all the birds got fed. There was a new batch of baby ducklings, and she watched them spash around in the water she poured in the small tub for them. They were so cute, it was easy to watch them and put the thoughts of the strange walker out of her mind. She piled up some rocks and sticks at one end of the pool to make sure the ducklings would be able to climb out easily. Her smile faded when she noticed a suspicious pile of feathers outside the small house that served as the sleeping place for her ducks. Dixie walked around behind the small gated area and started swearing. Something had gotten another one of the ducks. The last time it had been a small pack of coyotes that had burrowed under the wall. But coyotes usually consumed the entire animal, and they usually heard them in the night. Whatever animal did this had only bitten off the head of the duck, and left the rest behind. And it had also been quiet. For now she would keep an eye out, but if it happened again, she would have to get her brother. Last time they sat up all night and then picked those asshole coyotes off one by one. A few got away but they had not been stupid enough to come back.

Dixie heard her brother's voice coming from the other side of the yard. He and her mother had gone out hunting early that morning, and it looked like they had been lucky. They walked in, a good sized deer swinging from a long pole they were supporting between them on their shoulders. Her brother was so tall now, bigger than both of her fathers. His red hair was cut short for the summer, but he had grown some of his facial hair into a small goatee. His arms were thick from work and his shoulders were broad. She knew plenty of the girls in town had crushes on him. But so far he had shown no preference for anyone in particular. He came towards her, his hand behind his back, hiding something. When he got close, he hugged his sister close and held out a flower he had found for her in the woods.

"Happy birthday," he told her, "Uncle Daryl told me it was a cherokee rose." The flower was white with a yellow center. Dixie held it to her nose, breathing in the sweet smell of it. Then she tucked it behind her ear. "I was going to save it and give it to Judith when she got back," her brother teased, "but since I know no other boy was going to give you flowers for your birthday, I figured I would take pity on you." Dixie laughed and smacked at him. They wrestled with each other a little until their mother yelled at them that they better quit before they scared the chickens. Dixie picked the flower up from where it fell and tucked it back behind her ear.

By the time she got there, people were already in the bar talking and laughing. The formal announcement was going to be at the birthday party, but Hershel had already told everyone the results of the very first public election the night before on the radio. Close friends and family were coming in for a celebration breakfast at her mother's bar. The bar was where almost everything in the town was celebrated. Her mother told her often that was why she had pushed so hard to get the place built and opened. Her mother had never formally taken a leadership position in the town, but her opinion always carried weight. And she said running the bar helped her keep her finger on the heartbeat of the town. She was always the first to know anything that was going on, and Dixie knew Deanna had considered her a close and trusted advisor. Since the place had first opened up all those years ago, it had been expanded several times and now also served as a hotel and boarding house for people visiting from other communities, people that had not found a permanent place to live yet, and the last few years it had been host to more and more men that had come to Alexandria looking for a wives.

Dixie had never been to any other towns except Hilltop, but she had heard that in most places, the men outnumbered the women sometimes even close to ten to one. Too many women had died during the first few years after the outbreak. When people came to Alexandria, they were always shocked to see how many women and young people there were. At last count, the girls actually outnumbered the boys here. And little by little, the word had gotten out and then the men had started showing up. Women here had to start wearing wedding rings again, something many of them had not done in all the time that they had been married. Most women had one, but Dixie's mother had two of them. Sometimes she wore one on each hand, and sometimes she kept them on a silver chain around her neck. One was a gold ring with a big flashy diamond and the other was a thin silver band that didn't look like much at first but when you looked closer, had a beautiful celtic design engraved on it. Sometimes she let Dixie try them on and look at them. Like her mother, she could never decided which one she liked best.

Since so many people in her community had lost parents, and many lived in multiple family homes, Dixie was quite old before she realized that having two fathers was rather unique. Lots of kids had a dead father and a new stepfather, but that was different. She had two fathers that were still alive and her mother shared a room with both of them. Dixie's mother told her that at the beginning it had been a bit of a scandal. When her mother said the word scandal, it was always with a wicked little grin. But like everything else, people had gotten used to it and her marriage had eventually ceased to be a novelty.

The smell in the kitchen made Dixie's mouth start watering before she even hit the door. Her Aunt Jessica and her mother had two huge cast iron skillets out on the stove and they were frying up corned venison hash with peppers and shallots from the garden. Once it was crispy and even a little brown around the edges, they portioned it out onto bug serving plates and used the skillets to fry up the eggs that Dixie had collected. They did the eggs overeasy, so when you cut in, the yolk soaked into the fried potatoes. This was Carl's favorite meal and since this was his celebration, the women had been sure to make it for him. Dixie grabbed the big colander from the sink that was full of freshly rinsed strawberries and started hulling them, tossing the tops into the bin that would be taken out to the compost later and putting the juicy red berries into a bowl. She tossed one into her mouth, trying not to let the juice on her fingers stain her lips. They were halfway through strawberry season and the rest of what they picked would probably be dried, frozen or made into jam or preserves and canned.

Jenny came into the kitchen, carrying a large bucket of milk, followed by one of the boarders that was staying at the bar. The people that stayed at the boarding house could trade in exchange for staying there, but most earned their keep by working in the gardens and helping to take care of the animals. The man was also carrying a large bucket of fresh milk, which he was looking like he might spill since he was so busy staring at Jenny's ample backside. When he saw Dixie, the man had a smile for her as well and she quickly ignored him and turned back to her berries. Her mother had warned her to stay away from those boarding house men. Not because they were bad men, but because she didn't want any of them convincing her daughter to go away and live with them in some other town. Most of them seemed too old for her anyway, not that they thought so. Jenny, on the other hand, was giggling away with the man. She was lucky her dad didn't see her. Uncle Morgan thought his daughter was far too young to date and if he ever found out even half of the things she had done, it was going to turn his hair even whiter than it already was.

RickyJo shooed the man out of the kitchen and into the main bar room, trying to hide a grin. Many men had been sucessful in getting between her neice's legs, but like Jessica before she had met Morgan, none of them had managed to make a lasting impression on her heart. And it sure wasn't from lack of trying. Jenny had received more jewelery, flowers, clothes and gifts than she could shake a stick at. One man had even given her a tiny white kitten than he had caught outside the walls. The way she went through those men was astonishing to RickyJo. What her neice needed was to find a man that would go through her, maybe even break her heart a little. Teach her that people's feelings were not to be so easily discarded.

MJ came into the kitchen. He was the only boy that didn't seem to feel like his manhood was being put into question just by stepping inside. He also still hugged and kissed his mother and didn't care who saw him. Dixie knew it was because if anyone wanted to talk any shit to him, he would find them later and pound them good.

"You want to get the iced tea out?," her mother asked her brother. He nodded. They brewed tea in big two or three gallon glass jars, so getting them out of the fridge and pouring them into more manageable sized pitchers for serving without dropping them or spilling the tea everywhere wasn't exactly a girly job. He had actually come in to see if his mother needed help with this specific task.

"You want me to take some cider out too?," he asked. There were so many apple trees in Alexandria, apple cider was a main staple in most people's diets. They drank it fresh, lightly fermented, hard and even sparkling. They also traded the apples with Hilltop, where there were peach, apricot and orange trees. Today the stuff in the fridge looked like the lightly alcoholic stuff, but MJ made sure to get himself a good swig to be sure. _Quality Control._ His father and his uncle Daryl brewed it, and sometimes he helped him. Helping meant sampling, and sampling was fun. They also made wine, moonshine and about a million different kinds of beer.

"And take your father that bottle of dark beer I put in the fridge for him," his mother told him. MJ smiled when he saw there were two bottles, which meant the other one was for him. Since it wasn't something most people enjoyed, they didn't brew dark stout often, but he just loved the bitter earthy taste of it. He knew his dad liked it too and usually referred to the lighter beers and cider as 'piss water'. MJ noticed that didn't keep the man from drinking the stuff, and sometimes too much of it. This was sometimes funny, and other times ended badly, with his mother and his Uncle Daryl fighting with his father.

Dixie finished with the berries and helped her brother to carry out the drinks. Along with the tea and cider, they also had plain water and even a few bottles of ginger beer, which was her favorite. As she set the pitcher of tea up on the bar top, she heard Hershel's voice coming in over the radio. _This is Hershel Grimes, broadcasting to you from the top of the bell tower, playing your favorite old world music..._ Then some music started coming in over the radio. People in Alexandria loved the radio station. It was tradition for most people to turn on their radios when they were heading home from runs or trading missions. When they heard the music start coming in, they knew they were almost home.

Jenny came in with the strawberries, setting them on the top of the bar, and then RickyJo and Jessica came out with the big platters and set them down. Carl let go of his wife's waist and headed over behind the bar, giving each woman a warm hug and thanking them. He knew this meal had taken some preparation, especially the corned venison, which took a week just to brine.

"What were you going to do with all this if I didn't win?," he asked them playfully. RickyJo gave him a big grin.

"Feed it to Spencer instead," she told him. This made them all laugh and Carl swatted at the woman playfully. He still thought she was the most attractive woman in town, except for his wife of course. And the long streaks of white hair that had grown in around her face were actually very lovely and dramatic against her tan skin. He never questioned why Daryl and Merle liked her so much. To Carl the reasons were plain enough. He knew Deanna had thought of RickyJo as one of the people she trusted most, and he hoped she planned to stay on in that position and advise him. In fact, he had been thinking of setting up a more formal council, like the one Hershel had been the head of back at the prison all those years ago. He couldn't be everywhere at once and the town was only getting larger every year. But that could wait until after his party.

Dixie was helping her mother, trying to make sure everyone had a full glass so they could make a toast. She was surprised to see Spencer come in, but she offered him a drink. He accepted it gratefully and took a large gulp before crossing the room to where Carl was standing. Spencer's mother had been grooming him for years to take over for her and run the town after she passed away. He knew people wanted to have a vote, but he had thought it was just a formality. When he had lost by a landslide to Carl, who was much younger and less experienced than him, he had been shocked and upset.

"I just wanted to say congratulations," Spencer told the man, sticking his hand out. Carl took it and shook it with real feeling. He knew it had been hard for Spencer to come here.

"I want to set up a council to help me with the running of the town," Carl told him, "I was hoping you would be willing to be a part of it." The offer touched Spencer, and from his expression, Carl knew he had done the right thing. Like RickyJo, Spencer had been helping Deanna run the town for years, and when she had gotten sick there towards the end, he had pretty much been doing it for her. Carl wanted him as a partner, not an adversary. Dixie watched the two men. Spencer was married to one of her cousins, so he was family. She had been sad for him when he lost the election to Carl, even though she thought Carl would make the better leader.

Rick tapped his ring against his glass, getting everyone's attention. He had his arm around Beth, who was sipping a glass if iced tea. She would have rather had a real drink, but she was pregnant. Again. Dixie darted over to stand by her Daddy Merle, leaning close to he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. Merle was watching Rick, the long winded fucker had better make this one quick, because he was starving.

"I will make this quick," Rick said, and then laughed when he heard a few dramatic sighs of relief. "I just wanted to say congratulations to my son Carl, the new leader of Alexandria." People started cheering and clapping.

"As my first act as leader I say its time to eat!," Carl hollered out. This brought on some more clapping and laughter.

"See I knew I voted for him for a fucking reason," Merle told his daughter, making her smile. She was the spitting image of her mother when she had been that age, especially when she smiled. And like her mother, she seemed to take no notice at all on the effect she had on the men around her. Even now, Rick's kid that ran the radio station was hovering in the doorway, staring at her. And she didn't even blink in his direction. The day she was born, she had been so quiet, they thought something was wrong with her. But when Rosita had turned her over, she had been staring up at all of them with her big blue eyes like she wondered what they were all looking at. She had not said a word until she was two and a half and then one day she had just started talking to all of them in complete sentences. That was just her way. She could never be made to do something she wasn't ready to do. Daryl was fond of saying that she had her mother's backbone, and Merle had to agree. It was a nice way of saying they both had a stubborn streak a mile wide.

MJ came over with a plate that he had elbowed in and filled up with as much food as it would hold, then started shoveling it in like it was his last meal. Dixie laughed at him. If he made love the way he ate she felt sorry for any girlfriend he ever got. She was about to inform him of his bad manners when there was a loud crash by the door. Maggie had come in with her daughter and the girl had tripped over who knows what, likely her own feet, and fallen into a chair knocking it over.

"Glenna Rhee," Merle said, elbowing MJ in the ribs.

"The Rhee stands for Rhee-tard," MJ quipped. Dixie rolled her eyes while the two of them laughed like hyenas. She had heard them make that joke so many times, she still had no idea why it had been so funny in the first place. It wasn't Glenna's fault that she was clumsy and awkward. Dixie knew who the real retards were, and she was thinking about telling them off. She knew it would just make them think the joke was even funnier, so she walked away from her father and brother instead.

Dixie ducked through the crowd, heading over to make sure Glenna was okay. When she got there, she saw that Hershel was already checking on her. He looked at Dixie funny and then his face started getting all red like he was the one that fell into the chair instead of Glenna.

"Don't worry Glenna," Dixie said, "my dad and my brother are both getting drunk so I'm sure I will be way more embarrassed than you real soon." This made Glenna smile and Hershel walked with her over to get something to eat and say horray to his brother Carl. Dixie followed them, getting a plate of food for herself. Then she spotted her mother and Daddy Daryl sitting in a booth, eating together. They were sitting next to each other, so she took the other side. Her mother saw she had nothing to drink and handed her the rest of her ginger beer. Dixie did not hesitate to take it and sipped it slowly to savor the spicy taste. They grew ginger in the garden and one of her favorite thing in the world to smell was the fresh roots when they pulled them out of the dirt and peeled them.

Her Daddy Daryl had his hand on her mother's leg under the table. From the time she was little, Dixie loved watching the two of them together. Her Aunt Jess had told Dixie that Daryl was the first man her mother had ever slept with. She had asked her mother about it later, but had been unable to get much out of her _. You don't want to hear about all that mess, honey._ She didn't think her mother liked talking about her life in the old world. Maybe it dragged up too many painful memories for her. Or maybe she had thought Dixie was too young at the time to hear about it.

"You girls making cheese today?," Daryl asked them. RickyJo nodded. Once the party cleared out, she had some things she needed to get done. Bread needed to be baked and they also needed to start getting things ready for the party next month. Last year so many people came that they had to set up tents for them to sleep in. And this year they were expecting even more.

"Why, you want to help?," RickyJo teased him, taking a piece of her hair and tickling his face with it.

"Nah but I might keep you comp'ny while I do up the dandelion wine," he answered, swatting at her hair and tickling her ribs under the table. Then he pulled her close and kissed her neck. Dixie blinked and suddenly she was seeing them laying on the table dead. The bar was empty and the windows were full of the dark bodies of walkers, coming for her. She opened her eyes again and let go of the table. She had been gripping it so hard it left red marks on her hands.

"You alright honey?," her mother asked her. Dixie nodded and took another swig of the ginger beer to wash the taste of death out of her mouth. She was fine, just losing her damn mind is all. Nothing to be concerned about.

 **** If you watch Defiance, there was a little nod to that show that I hope you caught. And if you don't watch it, you should start because it is a freaking great show. As always read, enjoy and review. I own nothing from the Walking Dead, only my own original characters. ****


	2. Chapter 2

Jenny

Jenny lingered in bed, her white kitten curled up on her stomach, purring like it's little motor was running. It was a lot bigger than when she first got it, but still not really cat sized yet. She stroked it's soft white fur and scratched behind it's ears and on the back of it's head. The cat was leaning into her had now, enjoying the attention. Much like the man that had given it to her, she thought with a giggle, the heat rising in her cheeks. He had not been very attractive, and normally she would have considered herself out of his league. But the man had been very charming and made her a lot of promises, so she had let him take her to bed. That part she liked, he had been what her mother liked to call 'a giver'. But afterwords he had been like all the rest of them, all moo moo eyes and wanting to get married. Fat chance of that buddy, she had just been looking to have a little fun. What would she want with a boring ass husband hanging around, telling her what to do and not to do, she already had her dad for that.

Jenny had noticed boys for the first time about two years ago, shortly after she turned thirteen. After that, she had not only lost her viginity, she had eradicated all traces of it. The dirtiest thing she had done was probably the time she blew her cousin MJ out behind the barn. He had been up for it at first, pun intended, but then after he got his rocks off he had started freaking out, whining like a little pussy and saying not to tell anyone or his mother might find out. Jenny laughed at him. The only way people were going to find out about that is if he got drunk and blabbed it. She sure wasn't going to tell them. Jenny lost interest in boys her own age after that, and started checking out the men that came into town to stay at her Aunt RickyJo's boarding house. She knew her aunt worried about her. By the time Jenny's mother had been this age, her oldest sister Cassie was a year old. Her mother had warned her several times not to do anything stupid. That meant don't get knocked up. And that was one thing Jenny and her mother could agree on. She had no intentions of having a baby.

Where her mother only liked to give vague warnings, her Aunt RickyJo gave information. She showed Jenny the plants she grew and what they were for. One was called stoneseed, and drinking a tea made out of it kept you from getting pregnant. Her Aunt warned her it was possible that the effects could become permanent, or that it might not work at all. Herbal medicine was always a little less reliable than the old world stuff that had been made in labs. But she had started drinking it after she had Jenny's cousin Dixie and had never gotten pregnant again. Sometimes she even dried the stuff and smoked it, mixing it in with her weed in little pinner joints.

Pulling on some clothes, Jenny headed downstairs. Her father had some reeds and grasses soaking in buckets of water on the back porch. His eyesight was getting bad and his arthritis was getting worse. So he wove baskets. He said keeping his hands moving helped to keep the stiffness from setting in. And people loved his baskets. He was so good at making them now that he could make them watertight. And he made specially shaped ones that fit on the sides of the horses and could hold all kinds of things. Her Uncle Merle was down in the kitchen, making coffee.

"Morning Jenny girl," he said, "make any boys cry today?" She tiptoed up to kiss his cheek.

"No," she said, "but I did just get up like ten minutes ago." Merle laughed. Her cat had followed her down into the kitchen and was rubbing itself across the man's legs. He leaned down and gave the cat a scratch behind the ears.

"Mornin' Miss Kitty," he told the cat. She gave him a little meow in return before running over to start howling at the door to be let out. Despite Jenny's objections that her cat should be kept inside, Merle opened the door and let it out. Stupid thing was in heat and it would howl like that all day if it didn't get out. Plus if they were lucky, it would get pregnant and they could trade the kittens. Inside the walls was safe, not only for people, but for critters of all kinds. And they had lots of moles, chipmunks, mice and other vermin. Plently of people in town would not mind having a pet that could help keep the rodent population down.

Jenny waited on the coffee, pouring a healthy amount into her travel mug with some milk from the fridge and sipping the hot beverage carefully as she walked over towards the barns. That man that she had been talking to the day before was already there, waiting for her. She tried to remember his name. Tony maybe, or Tom? She decided on just smiling and saying good morning, which seemed to satisfy him. Then they went into the barn to do the milking. She got him set up with a stool and showed him what to do, being sure to give him one of the goats that wasn't likely to start going crazy on him. Then she went into the next stall and got started. It took them about an hour, which seemed like longer since the man kept trying to make small talk with her about things that she could care less about. He wasn't exactly easy on the eyes, but she had found men that weren't as good looking were usually better in bed. Just look at Hershel Grimes, prettier than any girl in town and he wouldn't know what to do with a pussy if one was staring him in the face.

After the milking was done, Jenny told the man to put the buckets by the barn door and pulled him into one of the empty stalls for a little kissy face. She liked the way he kissed her, starting out soft and gentle, waiting until she was ready instead of groping at her and shoving his tounge down her throat. He went for her ass first. All guys did. It was round and bouncy and large in proportion to her thin waist. She had her mother's fine straight features and her father's darker coloring. Her hair was a wooly curly mess and she kept it short, so all she had to do was comb though it. The man moved his hands up her waist, pulling her against him and deepening his kiss. Then she heard her mother calling her.

"Sorry," she told him, "we will have to finish this later." The man pulled her close for one more lingering kiss and then let go.

"Time for breakfast anyway," he said, giving her a smile. They picked up the buckets of milk and headed for the kitchen entrance of the bar. Jenny came in, setting her milk on the counter and watching her cousin give the man with her a little Dixie scowl before turning back to the sink. When she made that face, she looked just like Uncle Merle. She had a flower tucked behind her ear and Jenny wondered who had given her that. Probably her brother or one of her dads, since she never gave any of the boys in town the time of day.

Jenny flirted with the man a little more, leaning in to whisper to him. _After the party._ Then her Aunt Ricky chased the man out. Jenny leaned over the counter, getting a good look at his backside as he was leaving. It was much better looking than his face, and Jenny thought about how she was going to fill her hands up with it later when she was letting him push himself inside her.

MJ came in, acting all gallant when all he was doing was pouring some iced tea. He had been ignoring Jenny since what happened behind the barn. So she when she walked past him, she bumped him with her hip, making him spill some of the tea.

"Watch where you are swinging your fat ass," he hissed at her. She gave him a little grin and picked up a pitcher of tea to carry it out into the bar room.

Once everyone was busy laughing and celebrating, Jenny found the man she had been toying with in the barn earlier. She put her hand on his arm and pulled at him, nodding her head towards the door. It was a good thing Glenna came in, knocking into a table like the clumsy moose she was, since that meant everyone was looking at her and no one saw Jenny and the man take off through the kitchen. She took him by the hand and led him out behind the barn and towards the wall. When he saw her climbing it, the man hesitated.

"Why don't we just go back in the barn?," he suggested. Jenny kept climbing, swingin her leg over the top of the wall.

"Why?," she asked, "you a turkey?" The man laughed at her and followed her up the wall. When they were on the ground, she wrapped her arm around his waist and led him over to a little meadow she liked that was full of wildflowers. The man picked one and handed it to her. She pulled her shirt off over her head and tucked the flower behind her ear like she had seen Dixie wear hers. The yellow in the flower made the golf flecks in her eyes sparkle. When she smiled, the man could see her straight white teeth. He had come to this town, hoping to find women and he had not believed his luck when such a beautiful young woman started flirting with him. If this worked out, he had a mind to settle down here, maybe with a little patch of land of his own.

He pulled her close, kissing her gently. She was so young, he knew there was a chance this might be her first time and he didn't want to rush her. She didn't seem like a virgin, but maybe she was just trying to act more mature than she really was. The man kissed her and Jenny could feel the throbbing start up down between her legs. He was a good kisser. She pulled his shirt up and he took his mouth off hers so she could pull it over his head. Then he picked her up in his arms and knelt down in the tall grass with her. She wrapped her legs around him, grinding her hips against the man through her tight pants.

He kissed her neck and behind her ear, moving down to push her bra out of the way and suck at her small dark nipples, making them hard. The way they were laying down in the grass, it seemed to bend around them, making a cocoon with the colorful wildflower bobbing as they moved. He had one hand unbuttoning her pants, and she arched her hips up so he could push them down. She was not wearing any underpants, which made the man turn and moan into her breasts. Then he slipped his hand between her legs and stroked the insides of her thighs, then moved to twine his fingers into the curly patch of hair that lay above her opening. Jenny could feel the heat building up inside her. She had enough of his playing around. Kicking off her pants the rest of the way, she pulled the man on top of her, grabbing at the bulge in his pants. He was pushing them down himself now, eager to get inside her where it was warm and wet. And when he pushed inside, she had a firm grip, her hands squeezing at his ass like she had pictured earlier, pulling him as deep inside her as he could get.

He started to move, and she kept her eyes shut, luxuriating in the sensations that were flowing through her. When she opened her eyes to get a look, she had to blink a few times to make sure what she was seeing was real. It was not the boarding house man on top of her, but a filthy dirty walker. One eye was hanging out of the socket, swinging as it pumped away at her. Part of its cheek on the other side was gone and she could see its teeth. Jenny started beating at the thing and screaming hysterically.

The man thought they had been having a good time when the girl under him all of a sudden started screaming and hitting him. He jumped up and she ran off naked into the woods. The man was afraid. Different towns had different rules and punishments for breaking the rules. It was no secret that at Alexandria, rape was considered totally unacceptable. If this girl said he raped her, they might kill him. And she wasn't just any girl, she was very well connected to the people that ran this town. They would take her word over his. For a second he thought about getting dressed and going back quickly for his things and leaving this town, Right now. And never ever coming back. But then he thought about the scared naked girl that had just taken off into the woods. He had better go find her and see what was wrong. If she was still freaking out, he could always take off after he talked to her.

Jenny ran through the woods. She was wearing her bra and nothing else, not even shoes and her feet were getting cut up on rocks and sticks. Splashing down into the small creek where they sometimes fished, she splashed water on her face, trying to get some kind of grip on reality. The she saw it. Shambling towards her. It was the same walker that she had seen before, on top of her. Its eyeball was hanging from the socket and it was coming closer to her. Then it stopped at the edge of the creek. She had never seen a walker do that before. And it was moving in a weird jerky way. The thing pushed its pants down and exposed what was left of its rotting flacid penis. It touched itself and then she swore the corners of its mouth turned up in a hideous sickening grin. Jenny started screaming again.

The man she had been having sex with came from the woods behind her. He splashed through the creek and stabbed the walker in the head with a large hunting knife. Then he handed Jenny her clothes.

"I'm sorry," the man said, "I never meant to hurt you." Jenny focused on the man. He looked scared. Maybe as scared as she was. But he wasn't scared of the walker. She realized what that freak out she had must have looked like to him, hitting him and screaming while they were getting it on and yelling for him to get off. He was afraid she was going to say he raped her, which he had not done. She tried to think quick. There was no way she could tell him that he had turned into an undead monster while they were fucking. He would think she was crazier than old man Bob.

"You didn't hurt me," she said, taking her clothes and clutching them to her, "I think we were laying on a bee and it stung me really hard." The man looked at her like he wasn't sure if he believed her. Then he started laughing.

"You scared the fucking hell out of me," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Are you sure I didn't hurt you?," he asked. Jenny shook her head. Then she let him help her out of the creek and she started to get dressed.


	3. Chapter 3

**** This chapter contains an excerpt from the erotic poem "To His Mistress Going to Bed" by John Donne. As always read, enjoy, review. I own nothing from The Walking Dead, only my original characters. ****

Hershel

The dream had been about Dixie, like they always were. Her long golden hair undone and blowing in the wind as she leaned closer to him. Then he had woken up to a terrible racket in the kitchen. His room was on the first floor, so he got up and shuffled out, pushing a stray curl back and out of his face. The place was a complete disaster. Flour was strewn about on every imaginable surface and his twin brothers were covered in it, like two tiny snow imps. There were eggs cracked on the floor and a nasty burning smell was coming from the stove.

"What the hell are you two doing?," he demanded.

"Making breakfast," they both said in unison. Then Little Rick, who was the more smart mouthed of the two added, "what does it look like ya dummy?" Hershel turned off the stove and carefully placed the pan into the sink and turned the cold water on. A giant cloud of hissing steam rose up, making both the boys ooh and aah. Hershel's mother appeared in the doorway, having also been woken early by the loud banging. She did not look happy.

"How many times have I told you boys not to play with the stove?," she asked them, "You could have burnt the whole house down."

"We were makin' breakfast," Little Rick insisted stubbornly.

"And where did you get those eggs?," she asked.

"Nowhere," Little Rick said.

"From the hen house," Nick said, too dumb to follow along with his brother's lie. Beth shook her head, if those little shits let all the hens out again, Rick was going to have a fucking coronary. She could never understand it. All her other children were so well behaved. And then the twins came. She had to get them under control before the new baby got here or she was going to lose her damn mind.

"I will check on the chickens and clean this up," Hershel offered. Beth crossed the kitchen and hugged her eldest son. Then she grabbed each tiny scallywag by the hand and dragged them upstairs to bathe them. Hershel heard them fighting and hollering. They acted like they hated the bath, but once the bubbles and the little rubber duckies came out, next thing you knew they would be screaming all over again when it was time to get out. First Hershel checked on the laying hens, who thankfully were all still in their coop. Then he got a rag and cleaned up the eggs and flour mess, getting mostly covered in the white stuff himself. Not having time for a shower, he went outside and shook off like a dog. Since he was going to the radio booth, which was outside the main walls, he put his gun in the holster on his hip and grabbed his bat.

He whistled while he walked, putting one hand in his pants pocket to fell the peices of paper inside. He knew them all by heart now, but he still liked to look at them. He thought about his favorite one

 _License my roving hands, and let them go,_

 _Before, behind, between, above, below._

 _I love you._

The poems were never signed. But in his mind, he liked to believe that they were from Dixie. He thought about her when he read them. And a few times he came close to asking her. But he had lost his nerve. She had never shown any desire to be more than friends with him. But he did see her reading a lot. When they were having what they called a 'lazy day' she and her mother would lay out sunbathing and take turns reading to each other from short story books. Once her brother MJ had snuck up on her when she was lying on ther stomach and undid her bikini top. _Hey Hershel, wanna see something funny?_ Then he had stood behind her and screamed SNAKE. Of course she jumped up with her boobs out. MJ's Uncle Daryl had come down off the porch and slapped him upside the back of the head. _What 'n the hell is wrong with ya!_ MJ had rubbed at the back of his head and carried on laughing, hollering at his sister to tell him when her boobs had gotten so big. Hershel wondered the same thing. One day they had all been skinny scab knee little kids and then it seemed like overnight, all the girls had just started swelling up in all the right places. Except poor Glenna, who seemed to just swell up.

Hershel saw he was going to pass his dad, who was coming back from walking the wall. He had Hershel's younger brother Shawn and Dixie's dad Daryl with him and both men gave him a nod.

"I think you might want to get home before mom drowns the twins," Hershel suggested to his father. Shawn rolled his eyes. His brothers were the absolute worst.

"They weren't in the chicken coop again, were they?," Rick asked. No matter what he did, he could not get those boys to behave. Hershel raised his eyebrows as if to say, what do you think? Rick cursed under his breath and headed for home. Daryl laughed. MJ had his moments when he was a toddler, but RickyJo had always kept him on a short leash. And he never had to worry about Dixie. She had been her mother's little helper from the time that she could walk. The gate opened and RickyJo and MJ came in, swinging a good sized deer between them. Daryl gave the Grimes boys a nod and walked back to his house, checking out the deer on the way.

"Can I go to the radio booth with you?," Shawn asked. Hershel nodded. He had actualy thinking about letting Shawn take some air time to himself up there, he was getting so familiar with the equipment. And today would be a good a day as any, since Hershel didn't want to miss Carl's party. Shawn already had his gun with him, since he had been checking the wall with his dad, so they opened the gate and headed out.

The party had been a sucess. Hershel headed back for the booth to relieve Shawn so he could go down and get something to eat before the food was all gone. Then he looked over the selection of music that his younger brother had out, smiling. The dude was learning, but he had a little ways to go yet. And he was still afraid to talk into the microphone. Hershel set up a few songs to play in a row. Songs that he knew his brother Carl liked, since this was his special day. Then he leaned back in his chair with his binoculars. He sat back up immediately and interrupted the music to sound the alarm. The alarm just meant people needed to listen. It was what came after that sounded a warning. One blow of the horn meant family coming home. Two blows meant another group approaching Three meant walkers or any other kind of danger.

Hershel turned the alarm off and blew the horn twice. Some of the people might be familiar, but they were too far away for him to tell. And there were a lot of them. He sounded the alarm again and blew the horn twice. Then he spoke into the microphone. _About two dozen incoming. Twenty minutes to arrival. Two dozen incoming. Get to your posts._ He didn't have to look, Hershel knew people in town were running around like crazy. Mothers took their children home or to a safe location. And everyone else came out with their guns, lining up on either side of the main street into town. It was an intimadating gauntlet to pass through, but it cut the right impression. The people here in Alexandria were not to be screwed with.

When Deanna had still been alive, she and her son Spencer had taken the new people into her house and spoken to them. Hershel guessed his brother Carl was going to be doing that today. Unless he had other plans. It was hard to tell with Carl. Hershel put his binoculars back up and waited for the people to get close enough that he could get a better look at them. Some were walking, but they had a few horse drawn carts with them Spencer and Cassie would be excited. When people came to town with horses, they liked to try and breed them with the horses they had to get more horses. Usually people were more than happy to let their horses do a little humping in exchange for a hot meal and some hospitality.

As they got closer, Hershel could tell some of them were familiar, but he couldn't say from where. People came and went. Sometimes a group would come for a visit and not show up again for a few years. They were about a quarter mile from the gate when Hershel figured out who they were. The necklaces they were wearing gave them away. He sounded the alarm and blew the horn twice. _Incoming. Its Seaside. Visitors from Seaside._ Seaside was a group of people that lived mostly on boats off the coast. They were a group that the Alexandrians traded with regularly. People still held the gauntlet. It was impressive and people that had been here before liked to see it. But a smaller group were climbing up on some horses to go out and meet the visitors. Hershel leaned to see if he could get a look who it was. He could see Daryl, Carl, his wife Sammie, Rick, Cassie and Dixie.

They rode out and Hershel watched them get closer to the group. When they reached them, they climbed down from their horses, offering rides to the tired and road weary guests. And they also offered to take the heavy packs the people were carrying. Daryl was shaking hands with the group's leader, a man he seemed to know well, since they were wacking each other on the back and talking. Dixie walked up and Daryl put his arm around his daughter. The man from seaside was laughing and gesturing to her. Hershel could guess the topic of coversation was her grown up appearance. The man took her hand in his and kissed it, making Hershel roll his eyes. He also felt a small pang of anger. _Keep away from her if you know whats good for you._ Then he scanned the road behind the guests to see if there were any stragglers coming behind them or maybe another small traveling group.

He saw nothing but a solitary walker. It was far enough away from the group not to be a threat, but something in the way it was moving caught his eye. He pulled down his binoculars and rubbed at them. Then he looked throught them again. The fucking thing looked like it was skipping. Maybe it was having some kind of weird body twitch, but it did not look like that. Then it stopped and he swore it looked in his direction. He was thinking he must be making more of this than it was, but then the thing raised its hand and waved at him. He rubbed at the glasses again, like some kind of smear on the glass was causing what he was seeing. When he held them back up, suddenly the thing was up against the window of the radio booth, pressed up against the glass. He dropped the binoculars, screaming in a very high pitched unmanly way that he was glad later there was no one around to hear. He jumped up, knocking his chair over backwards. But when he looked up again, there was nothing there. Daring to peer through the binoculars again, he saw the walker was lying dead in the road, someone from seaside was riding away from it on a horse, holding a long sword that must have been used to decapitate the monster.

It took Hershel a few minutes for his breathing to return to normal. He convinced himself he must have imagined the whole thing. Maybe he had not been getting enough sleep lately or something. Either way, he wasn't going to say a word about it to anyone. Not that they would believe him even if he told them.


	4. Chapter 4

Glenna

Glenna sat at the small table in her room, brushing her hair until it felt soft and glossy. Her mother always told her that her hair was beautiful. It was a shiny dark brown, and since she never gave it more than a tiny trim, it fell almost to her waist. She looked in the small mirror in her room. It was better to look at herself in this one. It was small, so she could only see her face and she had to tip her head up to look, so it made her look like she only had one chin instead of two. Hanging from the mirror was an old pocket watch that her grandfather had given her father. And on the small table there were several worn paperback books stacked up and a small picture in a frame. It was her mother and Aunt Beth looking very young and pretty, posing next to a plastic baby pool with her and her cousin Hershel inside. You could see the red scar across her mother's neck from when she had tried to end her life after Glenna's father died. Next to that was the journal Glenna was using now. Plenty more were under her bed, filled with her small even script.

Having a dead father was nothing unusual in the new world, but most kids mothers had remarrried so they all had stepfathers. Her mother had not. And it wasn't because she had not had any offers. Even now she got more attention than Glenna from the men that came to town. But she always said that she got all the love she needed from her daughter. This made Glenna's heart swell, but the last few years it had started to make her feel smothered. Then guilty for feeling smothered. Her mother had loved and doted on her from the day she was born. She had slept in bed with her until she was thirteen. And then her mother had only given Glenna her own room at her Aunt Beth's urgings.

Glenna remembered the conversation she had overheard from the spot she liked to sit in on the side of the front porch. _She's almost a woman Maggie, she needs her own space. But what if something happens to her. Nothing is going to happen to her in the next room. You have got to learn to let go a little. Thats easy for you to say, she's all I have. You think I don't worry about Hershel and Shawn. All mothers worry. But you worry too much Maggie, you are suffocating that girl._ Then she had heard her mother crying. It had taken every bit of will in her not to go to her mother and tell her no, she never wanted her own room, she would sleep with her forever. But she really did want her own room. Badly. The other kids called her a big fat baby for sleeping with her mommy. Except Dixie, who had told them to shut their stupid faces and threatened to go get her brother if they didn't stop. That had shut them up real quick, since they knew she wasn't kidding. MJ had beat one of them bloody for something he had said to Dixie a week or two before that. _Bet you like to take it in both holes just like your whore mother._ Now all the boys were scared of him. Glenna had gone home and told her mom she wanted her own room.

Taking a crumpled page out of her journal, she smoothed it out and folded it up neatly. Then she slipped it into the pocket of the baggy mens shorts she was wearing. She had been writing the poems and letters for about a year now, but it had been a month ago when she had gotten brave enough to deliver one. Her mother strictly forbade her to go outside the walls. Not ever. Not for any reason. Once Dixie and Sarah had invited her to go hunting with them. Sarah had her big wolf dog with her and she had even let Glenna pet it. It had opened its mouth to lick her and Glenna had jumped back, thinking it was going to take her hand off. The girls laughed. _Its okay, that just means he likes you._ People laughed at Glenna a lot, but she knew Dixie and Sarah did not mean it in the mean way that other people did. It had just been funny.

Glenna knew if her mom found out about the hunting trip, she would not be allowed to go. And she really wanted to go. Really bad. Sarah and Dixie had even dug up an old bow for her to use and said they would teach her how to shoot it. She had been all geared up too, in what she thought would be her best outfit for hunting, the bow on her back and a knife Sarah borrowed from her stepfather. He had even said that she could keep it if she wanted. He never used it. Glenna liked Sarah's dad. Most people thought he was a little odd, but he was always nice to her and he let her borrow books from him sometimes. Her mom told her once that he had been the one that saved her life. And the knife was a nice one, long and sharp with a pretty leather sheath that hooked onto her belt.

She had been ready to go off and have a great adventure, like the ones she read about in her books. Even if all that happened was they bagged a rabbit it would be the most exciting thing that ever happened to her. But her mother had caught her on the way out of the gate. The scene that followed had been the most humiliating of her life. And coming from Glenna that was pretty bad. Her mother had been screaming and hollering at her and the other girls. Sarah had backed up, holding her dog since it was growling at Glenna's mom. But Dixie had held her ground. She wasn't doing a damn thing wrong and Glenna's crazy mother didn't scare her. _Stop throwing such a fucking fit, we weren't going to let anything happen to her._ But Glenna's mom would have none of that, she had Glenna by the arm, her nails digging into the fleshy part. By this time the loud yelling had drawn quite a crowd. People were outside the bar watching them. And Dixie's brother had been watching the gate, and was now staring at them with his mouth open. And he thought his parents were crazy. While her mother had kept yelling louder and louder, Glenna had wished she could crawl into a hole and die. My daughter cannot go outside the wall. She doesn't know how to take care of herself. Can't you see she is too slow to run away if something happens. That comment had been the worst.

People were looking around at each other, feeling uncomfortable. But Dixie had yelled right back at Glenna's mom. _Glenna can learn to go hunting if she wants to. You can't tell her she can't._ When Dixie had asked her mother about inviting Glenna to go hunting, he mother had told her it was a good idea. And just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Glenna's mother had pulled her hand back and slapped Dixie hard across the face. Then Dixie's mom had come running out of the bar. There was no doubt in Glenna's mind that the woman inteded to beat her mother bloody, just like MJ had done to that stupid boy. But MJ had intercepted his mother and held her back. He wrestled her to the ground and sat on her. And she had been screaming terrible things at Glenna's mom. Mostly that if she ever touched her daughter again she was going to kill her in lots of different painful ways.

Glenna's mom had taken the bow and knife from her and threw them on the ground. Then she had marched off home, dragging Glenna along with her. And that was the end of Glenna's career as a hunter. The other girls didn't ask her to go with them again. And a lot of them avoided her altogether after that. Even Dixie and Sarah, who had always been nice to her, stopped inviting her to do things with them. But she still had the bow and knife under her bed. Sarah had snuck over when she knew Glenna's mom was gone and given them back to her. And Glenna had worn the knife the night she left the wall. She had waited quietly in her room until she knew her mother was asleep. Then she had tiptoed out the back door and climbed over the wall, using the supports like she had seen other people do. It was part of the town rules that everyone was supposed to come and go from the front gates, but it was a rule that not everyone followed. On hot days, kids climbed the back walls by the gardens to go swimming in the lake that was about half a mile away. Glenna never went, but she watched them climb the wall and disappear over the top. They always came back.

When her feet hit the ground on the other side, she had been expecting something to happen, but nothing did. She had laughed a little at herself for being so scared of nothing. Then she had walked over to the bell tower and waited for Hershel to come down. Once he was gone, she had climbed the steps and slid the note under the door for him. The first one had been song lyrics, and some of the others were love poems she had written or copied out of books she loved. She never signed them. Partly because he was her cousin, so having a crush on him would be frowned upon. And partly because she knew that cousin or not, theres no way a boy that handsome would ever even think about giving her the time of day. Boys liked pretty girls, like Dixie and Maria, or sexy ones like Jenny. They didn't like her. And Hershel would probably not even lower himself to talk to her if she wasn't family. But she liked to think about him anyway.

One day he would look at her like the men in the romance novels she read, and he would know she was the one for him. Maybe they would leave this place and start their own group where no one would tell them they couldn't be together. Men would do anything for a woman they loved. Glenna picked up the picture of her and Hershel in the wading pool. _We were naked together once._ She knew that was a nasty dirty thought, but it made her smile anyway. Glenna wondered what he thought about her notes. Did he suspect they might be from her? She saw the way he looked at Dixie. Maybe he thought they were from her and it made him happy. Some girls in Glenna's situation would have hated Dixie, but mostly Glenna just wanted to be her. Just for one day she wished she could have that kind of power over boys. Make them notice her without even trying.

The note she had in her pocket tonight was another love poem. This one she had written herself. It had taken a few tries to get it right, but she was rather proud of it. It was too good to be torn into little shreds and thrown in the trashcan like so many of the others. She was going to leave it for Hershel. It was going to be easy to sneak out tonight, since her mother had been drinking earlier in the day. She stepped out of her room and leaned across the hall, twisting the doorknob to her mother's room silently. The sound of her mother's heavy even breathing cold be heard so she pulled the door shut and headed for the back of the house.

The poem was in her pocket and her knife was hooked onto one of her belt loops. She approached the wall and looked around to make sure no one was watching her. Then Glenna took a deep breath and started to climb. The most awkward part was swinging over the top to climb down the other side. She held the top ledge and swung one heavy leg over. A terrible ripping sound issued from the crotch of her shorts. Son of a bitch, she thought. Now she had to decide if she was going back to change and risk waking her mother, or walking through the woods with the ass ripped out of her shorts. She decided to go, and swung her other leg over, climbing down the other side of the wall. She miss calculated the distance to the ground and tried to step off the supports too soon. Landing on her ass in the dirt, she cursed again. Now her ass was ripped and muddy. The sudden thought that her mother might catch her coming home like this and ask where she had been shot a ripple of fear through her and she rubbed at her arms, which were covered in goose flesh despite the warm summer air.

Glenna heard voices and ducked quickly behind a bush. The voices got more familar as they got closer. It was Dixie's mother and one of her fathers, the nice one that had given Sarah her dog. Glenna was not hidden very well, but she had a feeling they weren't going to see her anyway. They were walking with their arms around each other and when they got near Glenna's hiding spot, they stopped and started kissing. It was the kind of kissing that people only did when they thought they were alone. Hands all over each other, using their tounges. Glenna had never seen people kiss like that, but she had read about it in books. Then Dixie's mom was saying come on, that they should hurry up and go. Glenna thought she meant go home, so she was surprised when she saw them turn and head further into the woods. She wanted to follow them, but she was afraid. Glenna had snuck out here before, but she had always stayed right next to the wall, so if anything happened she could climb back up it.

Well I have come this far, she thought. Then she turned and headed after the couple. They were not hard to find, since they had only gone a few yards into the woods. Now they were kissing again, pulling at each other's clothes. Dixie's mother kneeled down in front of him and put her mouth on him. Glenna wrinkled her nose up. She had not known that was a normal part of love making. Totally gross. Glenna knew that some boys smelled bad, she didn't want to think about what they might taste like. But Dixie's father did not seem to think it was gross, in fact he was moaning like it was the best thing that ever happened to him. Then he was yanking at Dixie's mother, pulling her to her feet and kissing her again on the mouth. Double gross. And then they turned and started climbing up some wooden planks that Glenna had not seen nailed to the tree they were next to. She got a little closer and saw they had climbed up into some kind of small treehouse. If she hunted, she would know it was a large deer stand. Now some noises were coming and Glenna had to move before a pair of mens underpants got dropped on her head.

She walked back towards the wall, but then realized she had gone the wrong way. All her mother's fault for never letting her come out here. So she turned around and went the other way, which was the wrong way again. Now it was starting to get dark and she was starting to get scared. People were not supposed to be outside the walls alone and they were not supposed to be out here without a gun. And all she had was her knife, that she really didn't even know how to use. And there were strangers in town. They had come from some place called seaside. Her mother had made her stay in the house all day. While her mother could be a bit paranoid, Glenna knew it was possible that some strange man might find her and try to hurt her. Or a walker might come. And it would want to eat her.

A twig snapped behind her and Glenna ran. She was thundering through the woods now, still not sure if she knew which way she was going. She checked behind her to see if anyone was in pursuit and she ran smack into a tree. Holding her head, she could feel the wetness and when she pulled her hand back it was covered in blood. Now she started to cry. She braced herself on the tree she had collided with and felt something there. It was a wooden plank, like the ones on the tree Dixie's parents had climbed. Glenna turned and took hold of the highest plank she could reach and then used her toes to grip the ones below. After some grunting and pulling, she was safe above the ground in a tree stand. She saw there was also a small box nailed to the tree next to where she sat. Inside, she found a bottle of water, a flashlight and a gun. She took the light and the water, but left the gun, since she had no idea how to use it. Glenna chugged the water down. She was up higher now, so she could see which way she needed to go to get back to town. And she could see the light from the bell tower. Hershel must still be in there. She felt the note in her pocket. She had come all the way out here, and ruined her clothes, she didn't want to have nothing to show for it.

Glenna turned on the flashlight. She was thinking about heading down the ladder, but she heard another noise. She leaned over the side of the platform and shined her light down. Then she gasped and sat back, trying to keep from screaming. There was a walker down there. She had never been this close to one before. _They can't climb. You are safe up here it can't get you._ Summoning up the courage, she peeked over the edge again, shining her light down at the thing to get a better look at it. It looked like a dead rotten person. And smelled like one too. And it was just standing there. Then it tipped its head back like it was looking up at her and waved. The thing moved funny. When they were kids they used to play with puppets on strings that you controlled with a t shaped stick from above. That was how this thing moved, like a puppet. _It can't wave. Walkers don't wave. You must be at home in bed, having a nightmare._ But this didn't feel like a nightmare. It felt very very real. She could feel the hard wood of the platform digging into her bare knees and her heavy stomach hanging down, jiggling when she moved.

The walker looked at her again, and then it moved towards the tree and started to climb. And thats when Glenna really started screaming. There was no where for her to go. The only way down was the ladder and that was kind of occupied right now. If she didn't think fast she was going to die up here in this tree, with a pair of ripped ass pants on and a love letter for her cousin in her pocket. The thing's hands had appeared now in the opening and it was clawing its way up onto the platform. She scrambled to the edge. There was only one thing to do, she was going to have to jump. Then she was going to have to run. So she better not get hurt when she landed or the thing was going to get her. There was no time for second thoughts, she grabbed the wood on the edge and swung her body over, intending to hang from her arms and not have too far of a drop. But she had underestimated how much she weighed. Her arms wouldn't hold her up and her fingers slipped. She flopped on the ground like a fish, making a little woof noise as the wind got knocked out of her.

Rolling herself onto her back, she reached for the flashlight, which luckily had faired better in the drop than she had. She shined it towards the tree. And the thing was still coming for her. It was climbing back down the plank ladder. _This can't be happening._ She pushed with her heels, moving backwards. Then the thing was on the ground, walking towards her. Glenna remembered the knife on her hip and fumbled to get it out of the sheath. Then she held it in front of her in one hand, the flashlight in the other. This was the end. But she wasn't going down without a fight.

There was a flash of light and movement. Glenna dropped her light, and it hit the ground and rolled. For just a moment she saw another person caught in the beam. It looked like someone that was wearing another person's face as a mask. Then the figure darted away. She felt a body thump heavily next to her and then a light was shining in her face. Blinding her.

"Glenna?," a voice said. She almost started crying again. The light was pointed down at the ground and she was gripped by the arm and pulled to her feet. It was Hershel.

"What the hell are you doing out here Glenna?," he asked. She couldn't tell him the truth. That she was coming to leave him a love note. Luckily he didn't wait for her to answer. "You are filthy," he remarked, "and your shorts are ripped. Did someone try to hurt you?" She shook her head no. "That walker almost had ya. Fuckin' good thing I was out here taking a piss." Then he put his arm around her. "Come on." She let him lead her back to the bell tower.

To her surprise, he motioned for her to follow him up the stairs. Once they were inside, he closed the booth and handed her a folding chair. She sat down in it, praying the chair would hold her weight. Then Hershel reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of booze. He took a swig and handed the bottle to Glenna. She had never had a drink before. They had lightly fermented cider at home sometimes, but this was not cider. This was the hard stuff. Or the good stuff if you were talking to MJ. Glenna didn't want to seem like a dork so she took a large swig from the bottle and came up coughing. Hershel slapped her on the back.

"Good stuff," he said with a smile, wiping her spit off his face. Hershel took another swig from the bottle and sat there. She could tell he was thinking about asking her something. "I tell you something," he asked, "you going to think I'm crazy?" Glenna shook her head. There was not a thing on this earth that Hershel could tell her that would make her think any less of him.

"When I walked up," he started, pausing to take another drink, "it looked like that walker was climbing down out of that tree stand." Glenna nodded. Then she grabbed the bottle and took another pull herself. It tasted bad, but she liked the way it was making her feel.

"It climbed up there to get me too," she said, "thats not normal is it?" Hershel shook his head. Walkers were called walkers for a reason. They shambled around. The only way they were really dangerous was in a large group. Glenna could tell he believed her. Hershel was not going to laugh at her. So she spoke up again. "It waved at me too." That turned his whole face as white as the strands of sun lightened hair that curled around his face.

"Earlier today, when that group was coming in from Seaside," he said, "I saw a walker out behind them. It was skipping. Then it stopped and waved at me." He looked at Glenna to see if she believed him. She did.

"How was it able to do that?," she asked.

"I don't know," he answered, "but if they climb a ladder, they can climb a wall."


	5. Chapter 5

Sarah

"Guess you want to go out?," Sarah asked her dog, pushing its cold wet nose away from her face. The dog sat back on its haunches and gave a little puppy yip. So much for sleeping in today, she thought. Really, she didn't mind that much. Sarah loved that dog more than almost anything she could think of, and getting up to take it out in the morning was a small price to pay for the love and companionship she got in exchange. Some new people had come to town yesterday, so she fastened Wolf's collar on and took the leash with her just in case. She usually didn't need it, but like her, the dog sometimes got nervous around people it didn't know.

Sarah had been sleeping in a pair of long soft pajama pants and a tank top. She pushed the straps down and put her bra on before pulling them back up. Stupid boobs, no matter what she did, they just kept getting bigger. She and Dixie had both tried taping their breasts down to keep them from growing, but her mother had caught them at it and made them take the tape off. _All you girls are going to do with that tape is make it so you can't breathe._ Now that Sarah was getting a little older, she didn't mind them as much, but they still got in the way when she was hunting and made wearing a bra necessary when she left the house. Especially when there were strange men in town that were going to stare at her. She threw on the shoulder holster where she kept her knife.

When Sarah opened the front door, Wolf streaked out and ran around the the backyard to sniff at the fencing around the chicken coops. Then she darted over towards the wall with her nose to the ground. Stopping, she sniffed hard at the ground near the base of the wall and started growling. Sarah clapped her hands and called the dog back. She hoped they weren't going to have another coyote problem. The last time had been bad enough. Not only had the animals torn up a bunch of their birds, but the only way to get rid of them was to stay up late at night and shoot at them, which woke everyone up.

Since they were already out, Sarah got a basket and collected the eggs from the hen house. She knew they still had some fresh ones inside on the counter fromt the day before. So she patted her leg to keep her dog close to her and decided to walk the eggs over and drop them off at the bar. When they got close, Wolf must have smelled someone she liked, since she ran for the kitchen door and gave a little yip. Then she sat down wagging her tail. Sarah was not surprised to see that one of Dixie's dads opened the door. Wolf loved him.

"Hi Daryl," Sarah said. He smiled and opened the door wide so Wolf could come in. That meant that Dixie's mom and Aunt were not in there. They were usually happy to give the dog a few scraps at the back door, but the women didn't like allow dog to come inside the kitchen. It wasn't because they were mean, they just didn't want dog hair getting into people's food. Sarah followed her dog inside. The kitchen of the bar was huge, and something was always baking or cooking in there. Daryl opened one of the refrigerator and poked around for a second. He came back out with a few slices of leftover chicken, which he tossed to Wolf after making her sit up and beg. Sarah smiled and thought about the time he had brought the dog over to her house and given it to her. That had been about two years ago.

Sarah was sitting on the floor with her brother in the living room. Her mother was the best in town at sewing and someone had brought several huge tuperware containers filled with random sewing supplies. They had been trying to sort through one of the bins, and her mother and stepfather had another one over by the couch going through another one. Her stepfather had gotten up to answer a knock at the door and Dixie's dad had come in with a tiny bundle of fur in his arms. He crossed the room and deposited the tiny puppy into her lap. Her brother was looking, his mouth open and an excited gleam in his eyes. Then her mother was up on her feet, and she was not happy. _I know what that is. Get that horrible animal out of here right now._ Sarah held the small puppy protectively in her arms, afraid her mother was going to make her give it back. It was not a horrible animal, it was small and soft and warm and fluffy and maybe the cutest thing she had ever seen. She didn't know enough to tell one kind of dog from another, but she guessed from her mother's reaction that this one was going to grow into a wolf. Daryl apologized to her mother and moved to take the puppy back. When he had found the small wolf, for some reason his first instinct was to give it to Sarah. But he would be happy to keep the dog himself if her mother didn't want her to have it. He had not meant to upset anyone.

Eugene stopped Daryl with his hand softly on his arm. He glanced at his wife. She looked horrified. Then he looked at his daughter. Her long black hair was tied back in a ponytail and her skin had taken on that nut brown color it as soon as the weather warmed up. She had Kim's eyes, but once she had been born, there had been no question as to who had fathered the girl. Everyone in town knew she was the daughter of the man that had led the attack on them all those years ago. And now she was clutching that tiny puppy to her chest, tears welling up in her eyes, like she had never wanted anything in her life as bad as she wanted to keep that puppy. Eugene turned to his wife. He knew how she still got about anything concerning the wolves. So he worded what he wanted to say very carefully.

"No matter what we do," he said, "people are always going to associate Sarah with the wolves. Maybe it would do her good to see what a real one is like." Kim had looked at her children's pleading faces. She knew they would both be heartbroken if she didn't let them keep the dog.

"If it pees in the house it is out of here," she said. Then she sat down and went back to her work. Sarah handed the dog to her brother and got up to thrown her arms around Daryl's waist. He gave her a little pat on the head and then shook her stepdad's hand and went back out the way he came. Sarah hugged her stepfather and then ran to throw her arms around her mother before she hurried back to get a better look at the small dog. Its nose was black and its snout was white, with small white markings above its eyes that looked like eyebrows. Its head and body were a darker greyish brown that tapered down into little white feet. She took the pup from her brother and held it in her lap, scooting close so he could still pet it. Her stepfather knelt down and got a little scratch on the dog. Kim stayed on the couch, pretending she wasn't interested.

She still acted that way towards the dog to this day, but Sarah knew her mother liked to pet the dog when she thought no one was looking. And she always cooked just a little too much for dinner, which of course she was forced to give to Wolf. The truth was, Wolf heard things they didn't, ran off predators from the chicken coops, and watched out for Sarah when she went out hunting. Kim never regretted letting her daughter keep the dog. And she saw that when people in town called her daughter the wolf girl, now it had now taken on a positive note, since she was the one with the pet wolf that ran off the rats and squirrels that dug up their gardens.

Daryl gave Wolf another scratch on the head and then led her outside with another piece of chicken. He knew RickyJo was coming back to put the bread in the oven and if she saw that dirty dog inside the kitchen, getting its dog hair everywhere, she would not be impressed. Then he went back to the salmon he had been getting ready to put into the smoker. The people visiting from seaside had brought them three freezers full of seafood. They had driven here with them in the backs of their sturdy horse carts, powered with solar panels attached to the tops of them. Most of them would still help out around town with whatever needed to be done, but the seafood was more than enought to pay for the extended visit they were making.

The people in Alexandria liked visitors, almost all communtites did. Visitors brought news and stories. But it was hard enough to grow and raise enough food for the community. To feed two dozen extra people for a month was a lot, and Seaside was just the beginning of the amount of people that would turn up for the summer meeting. It was understood that large groups either needed to bring their own food, or donate something of equal value to the community to make up for what they would eat while they were staying. Most groups usually took the donation route. Once Hilltop showed up, they would organize a large hunting party and go out to try for several large animals at once. The year before they had hit a huge herd of longhorn cattle and gotten so much there was still had some beef in the freezer and in big quart canning jars on the shelves in the basement under the bar. They didn't have the room to raise cattle in Alexandria, so beef was considered a delicacy. The only way they could usually get it was to trade with Hilltop, and it never came cheap. Not that Daryl blamed them, it took a lot of food and water to raise a cow to full size.

Sarah stayed in the kitchen, and helped Daryl get the salmon ready for the smoker. RickyJo and Dixie turned up with the eggs from their coops and RickyJo had the girls help her get the bread in the oven before sending them into the bar room to set up the tables for breakfast. Wolf was allowed in the bar room, just not in the kitchen, so Sarah let him in the front door and led him over to a corner where he would be out of the way. Jenny came in from the direction of the boarding house rooms were, looking around to be sure her Aunt didn't see her.

"Your shirt is inside out," Dixie told her cousin. Jenny laughed and took it off, turning it around the right way before putting it back on.

"Want to hear what I was just doing?," Jenny asked them.

"No," both girls told her in unison. Sarah had already heard about enough of Jenny's sexual liaisons to gross her out for the rest of her life. She couldn't believe some of the things that girl had done. And how many different men she liked to do them with. Sarah was starting to find boys interesting, and sometimes she thought about what it would be like to kiss one. She liked to watch Dixie's brother when he was carrrying buckets of water or chopping wood with his shirt off. But that was about the extent of her sexual maturity.

Jenny laughed and teased them for being a couple little virgins. Then they were all giggling and taking about boys and giggling some more. Dixie's mom came out and laughed at them. She liked to see the girls together, laughing and talking, having the opportunity to be normal teenagers. Sarah looked at the scars on the woman's face, a faint white now against her summer tan. She knew her mother had marks on her face too, that she covered with her hair. Sarah had been told how her mother got her scars, but no one had ever told her what happened to Dixie's mom. And she wasn't sure she wanted to know. All the stories about the time before they came here were terrible. She knew MJ had been born in a prison. He liked to tell people that, even though most of them didn't really understand exactly what a prison was, including him. Where there so many bad people in the old world that they had to lock them all up in a special building.

"Its going to be a few more minutes until breakfast?," Sarah asked.

"Going to check your traps?," RickyJo asked her. Sarah nodded. "Why don't you girls go with her," she suggested to Dixie and Jenny. She knew Sarah wasn't going far and she had her dog with her, but it would make her feel better if they went in a group. "You can borrow the extra guns from the safe in the basement."

"For real?," Dixie asked. There were some sweet ass weapons down there. Her mother nodded and the girls took off tearing through the kitchen, the dog chasing after them, barking.

Going for a walk to check animal traps just seemed so much cooler when you had a huge gun in your hands. They usually went out with bows. The guns were saved in case they needed to go to war with another group of people, not to shoot rabbits and deer. Jenny was looking through her scope at anything she could see and almost tripped over her own feet. So she tossed the gun back over her shoulder on its strap and started telling the girls about all the sex she had the night before even though they already said they didn't want to hear it.

The traps had been good to them today. Sarah had a few rabbits dangling from her shoulder, plus Dixie was carrying a fat thing that the girls were pretty sure was a woodchuck or maybe a ground hog. Either way they were going to eat it. They reset each trap as they went. These were kill traps, but they had live traps they put out at certain times of the year, to catch rabbits to add to the ones they bred for meat in rabbit runs and cages. It was always hard to butcher the rabbits they kept. Hershel and his mom took care of the rabbits. But when it was time to butcher them, Sarah knew his older brother Carl and his dad usually took care of it. She was glad it wasn't her job. She knew how much she loved Wolf and no matter how hungry she was, she would never be able to hurt him. Hershel probably felt the same way about killing his bunnies. Though it didn't stop him from eating them once they were already dead. Rabbit and dumplings was good.

As the girls turned to follow the path that would lead them down to the last few traps, they stopped when they saw a body was laying in the middle of the path. Wolf ran ahead and got a sniff of it, then started growling like he had at the bottom of the wall that morning. It was clearly a walker. But it looked weird, like someone had peeled all its skin off. Everyone knew you could cover yourself in walker blood to keep them from being able to smell you, but Sarah had never heard of a reason why anyone would want to take the skin off. I hope whoever did that, did it after the thing was already dead and not while it was still a person, Sarah thought, the idea making her stomach feel a little queasy. Dixie walked ahead and kicked at the thing with the tip of her cowboy boot.

"Looks like someone peeled the skin off its face and arms," Dixie said. A low growl issued from Wolf's throat. Dixie knelt down and poked at the thing's head with the end of her gun. There was also a splatter of blood across the thing's chest that looked fresh.

"Why would anyone want to skin a walker?," Sarah asked. She couldn't think of a reason why anyone would want to get that close to one.

"Maybe it was some kind of trophy?," Dixie suggested.

"You mean like the ears?," Jenny asked. Dixie laughed. But Sarah was looking at them questioningly.

"My dads had a contest to see how many walkers they could get in a month," Dixie explained, "they were taking the ears to keep a count." They had been stringing them up out on the back porch, and it was really disgusting.

"Yeh," Jenny added, "they were stinking up the back porch something awful so Aunt Ricky threw them all away." When her uncles came back to see their trophies were missing her Aunt had acted like she had no idea what happened to them. _Maybe an animal ran off with them?_ Jenny knew she had climbed the wall and thrown the nasty things as far as she could. In fact, she and Dixie had been cheering her on while she was doing it. No one wanted to smell walker stink while they were trying to drink their coffee on the back steps. Jenny's mom had already tried spraying the things with perfume, but it had not worked at all.

"I don't think someone would take all this as a trophy," Sarah said, pointing to the walker. The other girls nodded in ageement. Before they could say anything else, the thing sat up, scaring the piss out of all of them and making Wolf bark like crazy. Jenny raised her gun and shot the thing straight through the head. Then she got close again and shot it in the head again where it lay.

"I could have gotten it with my knife," Sarah said. Wasting bullets was frowned upon. Jenny held her gun up.

"But then I wouldn't have gotten to shoot this gun," she announced, making the other girls laugh. According to Jenny, rules were meant to be broken. Wolf grabbed the arm of the dead walker and shook it hard. Then she barked at the thing. When she was sure it was dead, she sat back and gave a loud howl. Sarah laughed at the dog. Nothing like taking credit for someone else's kill. Silly dog. Then the girls stepped over the walker and set off down the path to check the rest of the traps before breakfast, the thoughts of the strange skinned walker fading from their thoughts already. But as she walked, Sarah had a funny feeling she was being watched. It was a stupid thing to think, because if anyone was that close, Wolf would have already sniffed them out.


	6. Chapter 6

Maria

The soft sounds of the baby goat woke her. Maria sat up rubbing at her eyes before she grabbed the bottle of milk they were using to feed it off the bedside table and picked the small goat up. It had been three days now, and she was planning on trying to give the baby back to its mother today. She found herself feeling more sad about it than she thought she was going to be. Goats usually didn't have more than one or two babies at a time, and this one's mother had given birth to four, with this one being the runt. It wasn't breathing when it came out, and Maria had knelt down and put her mouth over the nose of the small goat, pushing in a life saving breath of air. She had been here in Hilltop for the last year, training to be a doctor. This had been the first time she had assisted with a birth by herself. Carson had been there watching, but he had let her know not to expect any help from him. When she went back to Alexandria to be a doctor for her people, he was not going to be there for advice. Maria knew he had been testing her, to see if she was ready, and she had been absolutely determined that every single one of those baby goats was going to make it. Like her mother always said, no one dies on my watch.

When the small goat had sprung up, snorting and sputtering, people had cheered and clapped for her. Since the little fellow was having a hard time getting at its mother's milk, with three larger siblings to push it out of the way, Maria had brought it back to her room and bottle fed it for a few days to keep it alive. She was glad they were going back home soon, so she wouldn't have to be around when the goat got big enough to be butchered for meat. If it had been a female goat, there was a chance they would keep it for milking, but since it was a boy, it would be butchered the following spring.

The small goat seemed to be done eating, so Maria returned it to the small basket she was keeping it in and started getting dressed. Lori's side of the bed was already cold, and Maria guessed that she had gotten up early to go help with the blueberry harvest. At Hilltop, they had early, mid and late varieties of blueberry bushes, so they provided fruit almost all summer long. But the ones they had the most of were the Jerseys, which gave their fruit right before they left for the summer meeting at Alexandria. The fruit needed to be picked, and then preserved. They dried them, canned them, and froze them. And then they picked more to take with them and give to the people at Alexandria, along with bushels of peaches and one full sized cow to pay for their stay. Hilltop was a huge colony, topping out around two hundred people. So even if they could leave their gardens during the most productive time of the year, not everyone could go to Alexandria at the same time. Some peole were too old or sick or too pregnant to go, and they stayed behind. The rest of the people divided themselves into two groups, and the first group would leave about halfway through the meeting and let the second group come for a visit. Anyone that was planning to get married go to go in the first wave, so they could be part of the celebration. And this year, Maria knew that her friend Judith was going to be included in that group.

Lori and Maria had come here for the year to learn a trade. Maria's parents had come to chaperone the girls, and Judith had decided at the last minute to tag along. Maria guessed it was because something had gone on between her and Dixie's brother MJ. Not because of anything the girl said, but just because the two of them had always been inseparable and then one day they had suddenly stopped speaking to each other. Judith had moved out of the room she shared with Jenny and went to stay with her brother Carl. When they got to Hilltop, Judith had gone with Lori to her blacksmith lessons, which surprised Maria, since the girl had never shown any interest before in learning how to make weapons. At home, she had mostly spent her time helping Dixie's mom out at the bar and hunting with MJ. She had also helped Hershel out with his rabbits and sometimes took a night shift up in the radio booth. There were some people in Alexandria that made weapons, but she wasn't one of them. In fact, Maria was pretty sure Judith didn't even make her own arrows. She got them from MJ's dad.

But after a few days, it became very clear that while Judith had no interest in making weapons, she did have interest in making time with the blacksmith's original apprentice, Rolland. The man had red hair like Maria's father, but it was a darker shade and he was covered in freckles. He was short but heavily muscled from his work as a smith. Maria thought maybe Judith liked him because he had red hair like MJ, but she soon found out that was the only thing the two men had in common. Where MJ was funny and playful, Rolland was quiet and serious. Judith told Maria he made her feel like a woman.

Plenty of the boys in Hilltop had tried to catch Maria's eye. But Maria was not going to let them distract her from her studies. And her mother had already warned her not to get attached to anyone, since they were not going to be staying forever. One of the boys told her she looked like Snow White, who her father explained to her later was a character in some Old World fairy tale story. It seemed to catch on after that and a lot of the residents here had started calling her Snow or Dr Snow as the situation called for. She didn't really mind. There were worse things to be called than a princess name. Just ask Glenna.

The hardest thing to get used to here in Hilltop was that the people here didn't carry weapons. It wasn't expressly forbidden, but people would often comment if they saw you with one. So Maria had taken to carrying her gun in an ankle holster under her pants. Her knife she still kept on her belt, but lots of people carrried small knives, since they were often used for other purposes besides killing walkers. She slipped on the arm band that marked her as a member of the medical team and tossed her messenger bag that contained her emergency medical supplies over her shoulder. That was another difference from home. Alexandria was smaller than Hilltop. If someone got hurt there, they just rushed them to the infirmary. They only took emergency supplies if they were going out on a run. But Hilltop was larger and much more spread out. They had orchards and huge fields to graze their animals in. If someone got trampled by a cow way over in west colony, they would need to be treated there.

Maria was ready to go, so she scooped the small goat up into her arms and set off. The place had an eerie deserted feel to it, but she knew everyone was just out helping with the blueberry picking. Soon the first wave of people would be back to start on preserving them, while the rest continued on picking. It was about a fifteen minute walk out to the barn where the baby goat's mother was. She held him close on the way, stroking the soft hair on his head and back. When she arrived at the barn, the man who usually tended the goats was there. Maria gave the baby one more tight hug and then handed it over to the man, who smiled at her.

"If you're that attached to the little fellow," the man told her, "you can keep 'im." Maria thought about it and shook her head. She had too many responsibilities to worry about taking care of a baby goat. And they didn't keep farm animals as pets in Alexandria, which meant the small goat would eventually be taking his place on the dinner table. She didn't think she could handle that. Her mother had always told her letting go was the hardest part of being a mother. She had never really understood what the woman had meant until now. If giving up a baby goat was this hard, she didn't want to imagine how her parents felt every time she went on a run.

The man set the baby goat down in the stall with its mother and siblings. It cried at the fencing for a minute, looking for Maria to come back and pick it up. Then it turned and went to join its family, nosing its larger brother out of the way so it could get to its mother. The man noticed the tears that were starting to form in Maria's eyes and he patted her on the back.

"Little fellow is going to do just fine," he told her, "jus' fine." In Hilltop, it was uncommon for people to show their emotions so openly. But the man believed the young woman's tears were a sign that she was going to make a very fine doctor someday. You had to really care for people and animals if you planned to devote your life to taking care of them. A doctor's time was never his own, and it took a special person to make that kind of selfless commitment. "How'd you like to come up to the house for some breakfast?," the man asked her. Maria happily accepted his invitation, partly because she was starving, and also because it would have been rude to turn him down.

She sat on the counter in the man's kitchen, watching him fry up a few eggs for each of them and sipping a glass of the fermented sweet tea the people in Hilltop liked to drink. They called it Kombucha, and it was good for you the same way fresh yogurt was, since it was lightly fermented. When they first came, she had found it sour and thought it tasted like old stale wine. But after living here for some time, Maria had found she had developed quite a taste for the stuff and was planning to bring back one of the large fermentation mushrooms they used to make it so she could brew her own back in Alexandria.

The man cut Maria off a few slices of homeade bread and set a overeasy egg on top of each one. Then he did the same for himself and she moved to join him at the table. His hair was very grey, but his face looked younger, so she guessed he was about her dad's age. Usually, being alone with a man like this would make her uncomfortable, but she knew the man had lost a daughter about her age to a bad flu shortly before she arrived in Hilltop last year. The way he was looking and talking to her seemed more fatherly than sexual, and it put her at ease.

"Got a nephew," the man mentioned, "Works as one of the guards on the wall. Good boy, maybe you know him.. His name is Thomas." Maria tried not to smile, but she was happy she knew now why the man had invited her to breakfast. Like most towns, Hilltop was short on one essential thing. Women. Since she, Lori and Judith had arrived here, they had been flooded with invitations to lunches and dinners and almost any kind of outing you could imagine. The people always had a son, a brother, a friend, an uncle, or a nephew, that they were dying to introduce the girls to. All of the men had been very respectful. She found out later that women from Alexandria were known for stabbing men who even thought to look at them wrong. Some of the younger men had even seemed a little nervous and scared. Some of them had even been funny or cute. There were even a few she might not have minded getting to know a little better. But after the first dinner, her father had sat the girls down and had a very frank talk with them.

He had explained to them that the boys here were not like the boys they knew at Alexandria. If Hershel had asked her to go hunting with him, he really had just wanted to go hunting. The men here in Hilltop were looking for wives. If they asked the girls out hunting, it was because they were hoping to start a relationship with them. By new world standards, all three girls were at an age where it would be acceptable for them to get married and start a family if they chose. And Abraham did not forbid the girls from going on dates or accepting dinner invitations. But he made sure they understood not to take the attention of the men here lightly. What he did not tell them was that he and Rosita had already been approached several times by men asking about their daughter and making sure he knew they only had honorable intentions in mind. He had been glad Rosita had been there to handle that, since what he wanted to do is beat every one of them into a pulp for even looking at his daughter. She had politely explained that Alexandrians did not believe in arranged marriage and that they were more than welcome to speak to her daughter any time they wished. She had also reminded each man that her daughter was here to learn to be a doctor and would be returning to Alexandria with them when her studies were finished.

Maria tried to think if she could remember a young man named Thomas. She spent most of her time in the infirmary or shadowing Carson when he made his rounds. She had met most of the people in Hilltop, but did not know many of them well. There was a boy a little older than her with shaggy brown hair that she was pretty sure was the nephew the man was talking about.

"Does he have brown hair and carry a black compound bow?," she asked the man. He nodded, pleased that the girl at least knew who his nephew was.

"Yes," the man said, "that's my nephew Thomas." Before he could start in on what she knew would likely turn into a list of Thomas's better traits and why he was likely to make a good husband, Maria stopped him.

"I am not looking to get married anytime soon," she told the man as politely as she could. "And I plan to live in Alexandria, I came here to learn to be a doctor so I can go back and take care of the people there. My people." The man stopped and looked at her. She was getting a little embarrassed, hoping she didn't blurt out too much, as she had a tendency to do sometimes.

"Smart girl," the man said. That made her blush a little. She knew she was smart. Lots of kids her age didn't even know how to read or write more than their own names. But the compliment embarrassed her all the same. The man was thinking about telling her that his nephew was going to be coming to Alexandria in the first group. He was sure the boy would be willing to help her out along the journey home. But they were interrupted by some loud yelling that could be heard coming from the direction of the front gates. The gates were a ways off from the man's house, but the sound carried though the open windows. Then the little walkie talkie that Maria had on her started beeping like crazy. Only medical people wore them, so if it was going off, someone was hurt.

Maria quickly thanked the man for breakfast and then bolted for the direction of the yelling, talking into the walkie to let them know she was coming.


	7. Chapter 7

LoriAnn

Reaching up on her tiptoes, Lori pulled at a bunch of ripe berries and plopped them into her basket. They wore the baskets on their chests, attached with straps, kind of like a backwards backpack. That way you had both hands free to pick. Judith reached over and grabbed at her upper arm.

"Damn girl," she said, "you are getting buff as hell." Lori smiled. It was from all the blacksmithing. Rolland had taught her to switch her hands, that way both sides of her body got evenly muscled, and it was less strain on her shoulders. But there was no helping the fact that she was going to end up with manly upper arms. Since it didn't deter any of the men in this town from trying to talk to her, she figured they must not look too bad. Judith was up on her toes now, trying to reach a high branch. Rolland gripped her around the legs and lifted her up, making her squeal. "These berries aren't worth getting dropped head first into this bush," she told him.

"I would never drop you," he insisted, setting her gently down onto her feet. Lori watched them lean in a give each other a quick kiss before they went back to picking. They looked like a bit of an old couple at first glance. Judith was tall and slim and Rolland was shorter than her and very stocky. He had dark red hair and his body was covered in freckles, especially his face. Judith had long brown hair that she kept shaved on one side to show her scar. She liked to joke that it made her a member of the ugly scar club, the other members of course being Dixie's mom RickyJo, Lori's step grandmother Beth and Sarah's mom Kim. Jenny's brother Duane was sometimes included in this group, but not always since he was a man. RickyJo liked to tell him he didn't count since it was sexy for a man to have scars. Lori had a feeling she only said that to make him feel better. There was nothing sexy about his nasty eye hole.

Rolland reached over and snatched a handful of berries from Lori's basket, tossing them into his mouth. She swatted at him. They were never going to get their baskets full if he kept filling his mouth.

"New contest," he announced. The previous contest had of course been who can fill their basket first. "Eat as much as you can and whoever gets the blueberry shits first, wins." Now the girls were really laughing.

"I am not sleeping with you tonight," Judith told him. Even Lori knew that was a lie. The two of them had not spent a single night apart since the second week they got here. They were planning to get married at the summer meeting. And then Judith was going to be coming back here to Hilltop to live. Lori was a little sad about that. They were already family, since Judith was her dad's half sister, but since they came here, they had become close friends. It was going to be like losing a sister. But Lori couldn't be happier for her. She had never seen Judith smile so much. Not only was Rolland funny and nice, along with Mr. Sutton, who was getting ready to retire, he ran what was the only blacksmith shop in the region. Lori was going to be opening up the second one when she got back to Alexandria. People needed their weapons, and they had no problem trading him whatever he wanted for repairing them or making them new ones. He was going to be able to take good care of Judith.

Lori looked down into her basket, which was about three quarters of the way full. When she finished this one, she was going to take a break. She was wearing one of the big floppy straw hats everyone used to keep the sun off, but it was still hot. There were big coolers of ice water on the wagons. And she was ready for a cold drink. Continuing with her picking, Lori let her mind wander. Seeing Judith so happy was starting to make her think about finding someone to settle down with. She knew she was already older than her mom had been when she had her.

Lori tried not to think about her mom. She missed her so much it hurt inside. The first few weeks here, she had cried herself to sleep every night with Judith and Maria patting her back. Maria's dad had even offered to take her back home. But she had toughed it out. And now she was glad. When she went home, she was going to bring back something of worth. Having their own blacksmith was going to make a real difference for Alexandria. They wouldn't have to make do with substandard weapons, or travel to Hilltop and trade when they needed something fixed. She was going to be able to do all that for them. Lori knew her parents were going to be proud of her. She also knew it was technically her birthday soon, but she had special present she had made for each one of her parents, and another for her younger brother. They were all knives with carved bone handles. She had traded several blades to the man that carved the handles for her. Lori was good at making weapons, but she wasn't much of an artist.

"Done!," Lori announced. Her basket was finally full.

"Going for a water break?," Judith asked her. Lori nodded. "We will be over there in a minute." Judith knew she would have been done a long time ago if she had been picked more instead of playing around with Rolland. Lori headed down the row of bushes, several men smiling at her as they stepped back to let her pass. She dumped her basket into one of the larger bushel baskets and walked over to get a drink of water. There were three or four metal cups attached to the large cooler of water to keep people from walking off with them. Lori filled one to the top and gulped it down. Then she filled it again and sat down in the grass to sip it. A young man she knew was named Thomas came over and sat next to her.

"Don't mean to squeeze you," he said, "but these ropes are only so long." He pulled at the rope holding his cup to the wagon, making her laugh. "Cups that want to run away." She laughed again. "Bet you are excited to be going home soon," he said.

"I am, I miss my mom," Lori admitted. The boy smiled at her. That was a cute thing for her to say.

"I am going this year for the first time since I was little," Thomas told her proudly. "I can't wait to see the Alexandria Seven, I hope I get to meet one of them." Lori started laughing. "What's so funny?," he asked her. She stuck out her hand. He shook it, looking at her confused.

"You already have met one of them," she informed him. His eyes opened wide as he looked at her.

"You?," he asked. She nodded, finding it hard not to keep laughing.

"And Maria, the girl training to be a doctor," she said.

"No shit," Thomas said. He tried to let the idea sink in. "I heard you all had magic powers," he said. Lori looked like a regular girl to him. A little muscular from blacksmithing, but she didn't seem to have any magic powers. Her dirty blonde hair was in a ponytail and there was a smear of blueberry juice across her cheek. She had brown eyes with little flecks of gold in them. She also had a very pretty smile and a musical laugh.

"No," she said, "we all just had moms that got their hump on right before or right after they got to Alexandria." That made Thomas laugh.

"I also heard you were all super hot chicks," he said. Lori laughed again.

"There's one boy out of the seven, my Uncle Hershel," she said, "as for the hot part I guess you will have to be the judge of that." Thomas looked her up and down. Then he thought about the pretty girl that was Carson's apprentice. She had been up at his Uncle's farm a few days before, birthing goats. She had pale skin and jet black hair that was cut short so it fell just below her chin. That girl had big blue eyes too. And the girl next to him was no slouch. She had a different look from the doctor girl, more athletic and strong looking. But she was attractive just the same.

"So far I say that rumor is true," Thomas told her. She blushed a little. "One of them is your Uncle?"

"Yeah," Lori said, still smiling from his compliment, "my grandpa had him with his second wife, shes younger. And my parents were really young when they had me so my uncle is the same age as me." Alexandria was a mess of who was related to who. The funniest was Jenny, who had a half brother and half sister who were married to each other, Duane and Desiree. And Dixie, who had two dads and her mother was married to both of them. In fact, that whole family was one big hot hillbilly mess.

Then there was her family. Carl was her dad, so Judith was his sister, but she was more Lori's age. And Rick had all those kids with Beth, who were Carl's siblings but they were not related to Judith. And MJ's mom had nursed Judith when she was a baby, so she always said Judith was MJ's milk sister. Judith lived at their house like she was part of that family for most of her childhood. But she wasn't actually related to them. It really gave Lori a headache trying to figure it all out.

Thomas stood up and reached down to give Lori a hand up. Before she could thank him, she heard a loud commotion coming from one end of the field. Thomas noticed Lori got her gun out right away. It startled him, but he knew people from Alexandria were like that. But in this case, she was right. He got his knife out of the sheath and held it tightly in one hand. People were running in their direction, away from the noise. Lori dodged them, heading out to see if she could help. She didn't think these people would panic like this over a few walkers, but it was hard to tell. She caught up with Judith and Rolland, who were also heading for the noise instead of away from it. When they got closer, Lori could tell it was a woman screaming.

There was a small circle of people around. A woman Lori had never seen before was on the ground, clutching a very skiny child to her chest and screaming. Lori saw Maria's parents shoving in and was immediately relieved. Rosita knelt down and pried the woman's hands off the child so she could get a look at him. The woman was still screaming hysterically so Rosita pulled her hand back and slapped her hard across the face.

"Stop screaming," she told her firmly. Then she put her hand to the boy's neck and felt for a heartbeat. There was a faint one, and his breathing was shallow. He was hot. Way too hot. He had heatstroke and was severely dehydrated. And malnourished too, by the looks of him. Rosita spotted Lori in the crowd.

"Get some water now," she told her. Lori ran for the cooler. The cups were tied on but the cooler was only about half full now. She saw Rolland had followed her.

"Lets take the whole cooler," he said. She nodded and grabbed one side of it. He lifted the other and yelled for people to get out of their way. They made it back to the boy and his mother, who Lori had not noticed at first had a large pregnant stomach. Rosita revived the boy with the water, and made him sip it slowly. She also made sure his mother got a drink. Then the woman started moaning and holding her stomach.

"Shes going to have that damn baby right here if we don't get her the fuck back to town," Rosita cursed. Rolland did not wait, he knelt down and scooped the woman up into his arms. Rosita handed the boy to Lori. Then they all started booking it back to town. It was about a two mile walk, but it seemed like longer. Abraham and Judith were flanking them with their guns out. Lori saw the boy she had been talking to had followed along after them too, and he had his knife out. She guessed he was just trying to impress her, but she appreciated the help all the same. Rosita ran ahead to get the medical room ready and find Maria or Dr. Carson. She couldn't deliver the baby and take care of the boy by herself.

Lori could hear the woman saying all kinds of crazy things. Talking about walkers swarming over the walls of their camp and how she barely made it out alive. A man levatating in the air with his arms up that was controlling them. Crazy crazy stuff. Lori was thinking Rosita might want to check the woman for a bump on the head when she got done birthing her baby.

"I think she might be from Camp Little Lake," Rolland said. "They were supposed to get here a week or two ago so some of them could come to the summer meeting with us."

"They are dead, all dead," the woman mumbled. Then she fainted.


	8. Chapter 8

Dixie

The walker she was kicking at was skinned, just like the one she had seen outside Alexandria. And she had seen a few more laying around that were done up that way too. It had already been shot with and arrow, but she pulled the arrow out and stabbed it in the head, just to be sure. The place was littered with the bodies of walkers, more than she could ever remember seeing in one place. Most of them were the people that used to live in this camp and had been bitten. It had been so long since anyone in Alexandria had died from a walker bite, she couldn't even remember the last time. This was a good reminder that they were dangerous. It was easy to forget that sometimes.

Two days before, Abraham and his daughter Maria had shown up at the front gates with their horses lathered. He said a woman from Camp Little Lake had shown up at Hilltop saying her whole camp had been massacred. She had been talking a little crazy, but since the people from there had been overdue for the visit they were supposed to be making to Hilltop, he thought they better check it out. And Abraham was not planning to walk into some bullshit with only a bunch of farmers with pitchforks to back him up. If he was going, he wanted his people with him.

Carl had come out and sanctioned the emergency gas use. They could get there faster if they took the trucks rather than the horses. It was sad to say, but if the camp was gone, they planned to take whatever supplies and food were left. And they could bring more of it back in the trucks. This was Abraham's mission, so he was in charge of picking his team. He took his daughter, in case anyone there needed medical help. The trucks could fit three each so he could take four more. Merle was his obvious first choice. Which meant Daryl was out, since they never went on overnight runs together. His next choice would have been RickyJo, but she couldn't leave the boarding house with so many people staying there and more on the way. So he figured the next best thing was RickyJo's mini me. Dixie came over to stand next to Maria and the two girls high fived each other. Spencer came over and stood next to them. Since he was no longer tied down to running the town with his mother, he would have been the next choice anyway, so Abraham gave him a nod. A lot of the kids were standing around, looking hopeful, but Abraham had been gone for a year and wasn't sure enough about any of them to take them along. He saw Jessica watching them from a bench in front of the bar.

"How about you Red?," he called to her, "you want to get some action?" Jessica flipped her middle finger up at them.

"Are you coming or not Aunt Jess?," Dixie yelled.

"I'm coming," she called back reluctantly.

They were leaving as soon as possible, so everyone ran home to get geared up. Dixie hugged her mother, promising her she would be careful. She noticed her brother had not volunteered to go, and guessed it was because he wanted to stay at home and wait on Judith to come back from Hilltop. She packed a spare pair of socks and filled a few bottles with water. Then she took all her arrows and her bow, an extra knife and some travelling food. They kept big jars of dried fruits and jerky for when people went on the road. It was light and gave you a lot of energy. She took a sleeping bag, since they were spending at least one night on the road. And her mother opened up the gun safe for her. She took a handgun with a long silencer on the front and a rifle. She was better with her bow, but the guns were better if things went bad and you needed to fire off a lot of shots in a row.

Her Daddy Merle came down from his room with his bag packed. Dixie saw him slip a flask into his bag but she didn't tell on him. He had that crazy arm thing on that he only wore when they went out hunting or on runs. There was a special knife he had that she knew hooked onto the end of it. He pulled her mother into his arms, holding her tight against his chest. Her mother hugged him back, sliding her arms up and around his neck. Then she kissed him hard on the mouth. MJ was in the kitchen doorway pretending he was going to throw up. Dixie laughed at him. She knew he thought it was gross, but she liked to see them kiss. They usually didn't do it in front of her, not this kind of kissing at least. This was the kind where tounges were involved. She thought it was very romantic and wondered what it might be like to kiss someone like that. Her mom pulled back and then hugged her dad tightly again with her cheek pressed to his.

"Keep an eye on her for me, okay?," she asked him, winking at Dixie. She had told Dixie the same thing. He nodded. MJ was now in the doorway, making slurping noises and rubbing his hands all over himself.

"Ya better be glad we kiss like that or ya never woulda been born," Merle informed the boy. Then he grabbed for him and caught him, holding him around the neck with his metal sleeve arm and grinding the knuckles of his good hand into his son's head. "Ya little shit." MJ was laughing and trying to get away. All he succeeded in doing was knocking over a table that had a vase of flowers on it.

"Goddamn it," RickyJo cursed at them both, "go outside if you want to rough house." Dixie could see her mom was trying to act mad, but she was smiling when she turned her back to pick up the flowers. She got them back in the vase and went into the kitchen to put a little water in the bottom. Then she sent MJ to the basement for the mop. Both Dixie and her father recieved one more quick hug and then they were off. Jessica was heading in for her stuff as they were heading out.

"Had to find Morgan so I could tell him I was leaving," she said, "I will be up there in just a minute."

"I already got the traveling food," Dixie told her. Her Aunt gave her a grateful smile and hurried into the house.

Merle and Abraham were the ones that knew where they were going, so they were driving. Dixie and Maria climbed into the truck with Merle. He thought they were going to drive him crazy, but as he drove along, he found himself rather enjoying listening to their excited chatter. Maria had shown of her new arm band, the one that marked her as a doctor, and told his daugter all about what life at Hilltop was like. Dixie was shocked to hear that Judith was going to be getting married at the summer meeting. Her brother was not going to be happy about that.

"Why does she want to marry him?," Dixie asked. Maria shrugged.

"She says shes in love with him," she said. For two girls that had never been in love, it was a rather strange concept.

"How do you think she knows?," Dixie asked her friend, "that she likes him best."

"I dunno," Maria answered, "He is really nice though. He gave her a really pretty ring that she said used to be his mother's." Merle had not said anything for the last few miles and he was guessing now that the girls forgot he was there. He found the love talk they were having to be interesting and he was happy that it sounded like his daughter was still a virgin. As far as he was concerned she could stay that way until she was thirty. He was thankful every damn day that his neice Jenny was not his daughter. That little girl was the biggest whore he had ever seen in his life, and he had seen a lot of whores. It was no wonder her father's hair was white.

Dixie leaned back against her seat, thinking about Judith and boys and love. She thought about Jenny, and how she kissed so many boys but never seemed to like any of them very much. And she thought about her mother, and how much she loved everyone. The way her mother kissed her Daddy Merle goodbye earlier. They were in love.

"Daddy Merle?," she said, turning towards him.

"Yes?," he answered, feeling nervous. Since Dixie had been getting older, her questions had been getting harder to answer. And he could tell by the thoughtful look on her face this one was probably going to be a doozy.

"Do you love mom?," she asked.

"Course I love yer mother, you should know that by now," he said. That question had not been as bad as he thought it would be. But she was taking another breath.

"When did you know you loved her?," she asked. He glanced to his side and saw both girls were looking at him expectantly, curious to see what his answer would be. He shifted a little in his seat. If they wanted love advice, they ought to ask someone else. He gave his daughter a wicked little grin.

"I knew I loved yer mother when she showed me her tattoos," he said with a laugh, "all of them." Dixie rolled her eyes at him. She had been serious.

"I am going to tell mom you said that," she informed him. Merle just laughed. He thought about her question though. When had he known. RickyJo had crept up on him. The funny way she had never been afraid of him when he used to sell her and Jessica pot. There was the time she had bribed that lawyer and kept him out of jail, he had taken her on a picinic and she had been laughing and feeding all her food to a family of baby ducks. The way she had shouldered up and taken care of things when her grandfather died. The look of pure excitement she got on her face when she made an impossible shot with her bow. The way she looked when she held MJ in her arms when he was just a little baby. And when she had been pregnant with Dixie and he stomach had gotten so big she couldn't reach her feet she had snatched up his arm piece and jabbed a fork into the end of it and used it to scratch her heels, which had apparently been itching her like crazy. But those were not the times that made him know for sure.

Dixie was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed under her breasts. She had not been expecting her father to tell her anything else and was taken aback when he spoke up without any further prodding.

"You seen the marks on your mother's face?," he asked her. Dixie nodded. Maria sat forward. She wanted to her this too. No one had ever told them how that happened and she had always wondered. Dixie was afraid to even say anything for fear that he would stop talking. He didn't. "A bad man snatched up me and your mother once. Long time ago I wanted her to run and get away. I wanted her to escape and leave me there to die. Guess thats when I knew," he said.

"Did she get away?," Dixie asked. He shook his head.

"No honey she didn't," he said. There was something in his voice. Something terrible had happened to her mother. The thing that no one ever talked about.

"What happened?," she asked. Maria couldn't help it and she chimed in.

"Was it the wolves?," she asked.

"Nah," Merle told them, "this was a long time before the wolves when we were living at the prison where MJ was born."

"What happened to Mom?," Dixie asked again. She was not going to be distracted with talk about MJ and prisons.

"Nothing you need to know about," Merle told her. She narrowed her eyes at him. He hated that, when she made that bitchy little face she looked just like Daryl. "You dumb kids better not be bothering your mother with questions about this shit either," he added. Dixie made the Daryl face at him again.

"I'm not dumb and I am not a kid," she informed him.

"Don't you give me that smart mouth bullshit Dolores," he told her, raising his voice a little, "Do not be upsetting your mother with a bunch of questions about things she would rather forget."

"Fine," Dixie said, crossing her arms again. He might have said not to ask her mother, but he never said she couldn't ask her Aunt Jess, and thats exactly what she planned on doing the next chance she got. Maria busted out laughing.

"Your name is Dolores?," she asked. They had known each other their whole lives and she had never heard anyone call her friend anything besides Dixie.

"Its Dolores Augustine King Dixon," Dixie told her. Now they were all laughing. Merle had tried to talk RickyJo out of giving her that mouthful of a name, but she never was one to listen to reason.

"Dixie!," Jessica yelled at her niece, "how many times you going to kill that same walker?" Dixie shook her head, bringing the current situation back into focus. Maria and her Aunt walked over.

"Its skin is all peeled off," Dixie told them. Jessica shrugged.

"Walkers do all kinds of dumb stuff, it probably tore it off on a fence or something," she said. Then she headed over to help Spencer load a large barrel of rice onto the truck.

"It doesn't look like its from a fence," Maria said, "it looks like the skin was surgically removed."

"Do you think it happened before or after it died?," Dixie asked. Maria knelt down and poked at the thing.

"Theres not a lot of blood, so I would say after."

"Me and Jenny and Sarah found one like this outside of Alexandria a day ago," Dixie said.

"Thats scary," Maria said. From the looks of the people that had lived her that died, whatever happened here had happened about three weeks to a month ago. That left whoever did it plenty of time to get down to Alexandria. "The lady that made it out of here said some crazy shit."

"Like what?," Dixie asked.

"She said the walkers were climbing the fences and coming after them with bats and rocks and stuff. She said they were organized, not like normal walkers." She paused then added, "My dad said she was a fucking nuthouse."

"What do you think?," Dixie asked her.

"I don't know," Maria said, "Even after the woman calmed down, she was still telling the same story." Dixie looked to make sure no one was close enough to hear her except Maria. Then she still spoke quietly.

"If I tell you something, you swear you won't think I'm crazy?"


	9. Chapter 9

Jenny

Her mom was gone on that run, and so was Spencer. So Jenny and her father had gone over to have dinner with her older sister Cassie. Desiree and Duane lived there too, along with their daughter and Cassie's son. Jenny was only about a year older than him, but he looked and acted much younger. His voice was starting to change and it was hard to listen to him squeaking and croaking without laughing. Desiree had been sewing Jenny a new dress for the fesitval this year and while she was there, Jenny tried it on so Desiree could fix the places where it didn't fit her. Like all her clothes, the waist was too big and it was too small on her hips and ass. Luckily, Desiree had been pretty sure that would be the case and had left big seams on the skirt that she could let out. The dress was pinned and inside out, Jenny could already tell it was going to look good on her. It had short sleeves that were poofy on her shoulder and a neckline low enough to show a tasteful amount of cleavage. The waist was tight on her now, and the skirt was full. The color made her dark skin look even darker, and she liked that too. Jenny hugged her sister carefully, so she wouldn't stab her with the pins sticking out of the dress and thanked her profusely.

At the festival celebrating their birthdays, the seven of them and their mothers all wore white. It started back when they were babies, and their mothers had dressed them all in christening gowns. It had become a tradition after that. Cassie opened the door to see the dress. She told Jenny how pretty she looked. But when she headed back out into the hall she rolled her eyes. It always annoyed her that her son was not included in the festival. She had been responsible and waited until she and Spencer were married before they had sex. If she had slutted it up with him right away, it would have been the Alexandria eight instead of the seven. She tried not to be bitter about it but it still annoyed her.

Spencer always told her to remember that the festival was really for the whole town, not just the seven kids that had been born after the battle with the wolves. But he also said the election was just a formality and look what had happened there. She had a feeling that even her own family members had voted for Carl instead of her husband. And then her Aunt RickyJo throwing him that party at the bar. It made her mad enough to spit. Spencer had devoted the last fifteen years of his life helping his mother run this town. She tried to remind herself that he was going to be home more now, and have more time to spend with her and Aiden and the horses. But mostly she just thought he was getting a raw deal.

Jenny took the dress off carefully and put her own clothes back on. She had a date she was planning on sneaking out for later after her dad went to bed, so she was wearing short shorts and a snug tshirt. Desiree was laughing at her for never wearing any underwear.

"You better wear some under this dress or when you get up on that platform, or everyone in town is going to get a free show including Dad," Desiree told her. Jenny laughed. Desiree was probably right, she better find herself some panties. Too bad Judith wasn't her roomate anymore, or she could have borrowed a pair from her. Now her only roomate was Miss Kitty, and they didn't exactly wear the same size. There was probably a pussy joke to be had somewhere in that line of thinking, but she couldn't think of one at the moment.

Jenny's dad took forever to go to bed. He was up for hours working on one of his stupid baskets in the living room of their house. Jenny guessed that he was missing her mom and didn't want to go to bed without her. Or maybe he was waiting for Aunt Ricky and Uncle Daryl to get done doing whatever noisy business they were doing upstairs. Why it got louder in there instead of quieter when there were only two people in there instead of three she had no idea. Once she and MJ had climbed up the trellis on the side of the house and tried to peek in the window to see what they were doing. Not only did they not get a very good look at anything, they had ripped the trellis off the side of the house and fell backwards into a big patch of stinging nettles her Aunt Ricky grew for medicinal tea. Her Uncle Daryl had really reamed them out for that shit too, and the next day they had to go get a ladder and fix the trellis they broke. MJ had thought the whole thing was hilarious of course. _I'm fixing this trellis real good so next time we climb it, it won't fall down. Goin' see me some humping._ Then they both started laughing like crazy. His plan didn't work since after that her Aunt Ricky started keeping the bedroom curtains closed.

Jenny missed her cousin MJ. They used to have so much fun together, but now he acted like he didn't even know she was there. _Didn't force you to do anything. And I know you liked it, you jerk._ And she knew when he and Dixie went out hunting, he told his sister not to invite her. Dixie ignored him and invited her anyway, but Jenny usually made up some excuse not to go. She wasn't going where she knew she wasn't wanted. It wasn't her fault Judith got mad and took off. Jenny had never said a thing to her. Well, she tried to convince herself, if he doesn't want to spend time with me thats his loss. Plenty of men enjoy my company.

Lately, she had been spending her time with the leader of Seaside. She figured he was a safe bet, since there was no way he was going to want to stay here. And she could just tell him, sorry, I don't want to move away and leave my family, instead of the truth, which was sorry I don't actually like you, I just like having sex with you. That didn't usually go over very well. And no matter how many times she told these guys that she was only looking for some fun, they always ended up wanting more.

She went around the back of the boarding house. Her Aunt had told Seaside they could only have a certain amount of rooms, since they were still expecting Hilltop and the Kingdom. There was a large area out behind the boarding house that they could use for camping. As long as they had a kitchen and a shower they could use, most people didn't mind sleeping in tents, especiallly when the weather was nice. A small group was sitting around a small fire they had made inside one of the firepits. A man she didn't know was playing the guitar. The man she had been outside the wall with the week before got up from the small circle and approached her. Jenny rolled her eyes and looked for a way to avoid him. As the man walked towards her, the light from the fire cast shadows on his face. For a moment she saw him as the walker again, his eye dangling from its socket. She felt the skin on her arms pucker up like an uncooked chicken.

"Hey there," the man said, giving her a big friendly smile that made her feel a little sick, "looking for me?" Jenny shook her head. This did not seem to deter him. "Haven't seen you around in a few days, you been feelin' alright?," he asked. It was on the tip of her tounge to tell him the truth. He hadn't seen her around because she had been avoiding him on purpose. He was a nice man, but she just couldn't look at him now without thinking about that walker. And even if that wasn't the case, she liked the man from Seaside more than she liked him.

"I've been busy," she said, "getting everything ready for the festival." It wasn't a total lie. She had been busy, especially with her mother and Dixie gone. She had to take care of the birds and do the milking.

"Why don't you come sit by the fire a while," he asked, moving closer to her. "No bees allowed this time." Jenny could see now she wasn't getting out of this without being blunt.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I have other plans." She could tell from the man's face he was disappointed and maybe a little hurt. He wasn't stupid though. He would be here after these Seaside people were gone. He didn't want to be rude and completely burn his bridges with this girl. He took her hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"Maybe some other time?," he suggested. Jenny smiled at him, feeling grateful that he allowed her an out.

"Maybe," she said. Then she turned and headed quickly inside the boarding house before anyone else could stop her. The man she was looking for was Andrew, and he was in the last room on the right. Walking down the dark hallway gave her a shiver. There was a small candle in a holder against one of the walls, so people could find their way. But it was burning low and flickering, making every dancing shadow into a monster. She lifted her hand and drummed her fingers softly on Andrew's door, nervous for a moment that he wasn't going to answer and she was going to be stuck out in the hall, alone with the shadow creatures.

But then she heard a soft rustling inside the room and the door was flung open. He was only wearing a pair of ripped jeans, his feet and chest bare. His blonde hair that he usually kept tied back in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck was rumped up around his head and hanging softly down to touch his shoulders. Jenny had never asked him how old he was. He looked about her mother's age, but she guessed he was actually quite a bit younger than that. Being out in the sun all day everyday on a boat had not been kind to his skin. It had done wonders for the rest of him though. He was muscular in a lean way, kind of like her cousin MJ, but he was not that tall. His stomach was hard and had little ripples of muscle across it. And Jenny liked his hair too, which was as soft as her cousin Dixie's and almost as long. It was dirty blonde with lighter blonde streaks around his face. He was very tan, but far from being as dark as she was, and when she touched him, she liked the look of her darker coloring against his lighter skin.

"Gave up on you," he told her, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Jenny told him, "I didn't mean to wake you. I can go if you want." He gave her a smile that let her know she wasn't going to be going anywhere. He was missing a tooth on one side of his mouth, the one right behind the canine. It showed when he smiled. She thought it made him look dangerous and roguish. And very sexy. He stepped back and gestured her inside, shutting the door behind her. She was hoping he was going to grab her up in his arms right away but he walked over and picked up a glass of water from his bedside, taking a drink and swishing the water around in his mouth a little before he swallowed it. He had a set of shoulders on him. They were broad and straight. Besides the ass, shoulders were the sexiest parts on a man. Her favorite time of year was the spring, when all the boys were outside working and the first really hot day they would all take their shirts off.

Andrew set his water glass down and closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms. She kissed him eagerly, but he pulled back from her, holding her at arm's length.

"Before I forget again," he said, "I have something for you." Jenny raised her eyebrows. It was going to be hard to top Miss Kitty. She had been the best present Jenny had ever gotten. So far. Andrew poked around in a backpack that was sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. He pulled out a bundle wrapped up in a few printed hankercheifs. Jenny found herself waiting in anticipation as he unrolled each one and set it on top of his backpack. The last one was a white kercheif with black designs painted on it. She almost thought that was the gift until he unrolled it and pulled out the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was strung up on silky white cording and was all made of shells that formed a pattern, with one larger conical shaped one in the center and tiny little ones separating it from the others. The shells had been polished until they shone like they were made of glass. This gift was so much better than Miss Kitty. And Jenny had been eyeballing the gold necklace Dixie had gotten from her mother and wishing she had something that pretty to wear to the fesitval. Now she had something even better. Andrew moved behind her and reached forward to fasten the necklace around her neck. She held it with her hand until he got it tied to make sure it wouldn't drop to the ground accidentally.

"Where did you get this?," she asked.

"I made it," he told her.

"Really?," she asked. There was so much wonder in her voice he couldn't help but laugh. Jenny acted so sexually mature that he forgot how young she really was. He had originally brought the necklace as a present for the woman that used to be the leader of this town. He intended it to be a present to offer goodwill and open up trade negotiations between the two communities. But when he got here, Deanna was dead, and there was a young man in charge. He had thought about giving it to the man as a present for his wife, but after he met Jenny, he changed his mind and decided he would rather give it to her. Seeing how happy it made her, he knew he had made the right decision. She was young, and had a lot of family here. But like the old world saying, love conquers all. If she liked him enough, maybe she would be willing to come home with him. Or maybe this would just be a memory to keep him warm on long winter nights on his boat. No matter how it worked out, one thing he had learned in the new world was to never take anything for granted.

Jenny pulled her shirt off over her head, being very careful not to get it caught on her new gift. Then she kicked of her shoes and pushed her shorts down, stepping out of them. Wearing nothing but her new necklace, she climbed into Andrew's bed, pulling him in after her. He had been a teenager when the outbreak happened, so he had sex a few times with girls he dated in school. And he had a few women over the years, but never one like Jenny. She wasn't overweight, but it was obvious that the people here had enough to eat. Unlike the bony girls he met on the road, she was soft and curvy in all the right places. As soon as he was on the bed with her, she was pulling at the zipper on his jeans, kissing him hard on the mouth. He ran his hands over her body, filling his hands up with her and trying to stop himself from grabbing her too hard.

She drew him out of his pants, pushing them down and pulling him on top of her. Her hand was on him, trying to guide him inside of her. He pushed back and got up so he could take his pants all the way off. Balancing on one leg at a time, he yanked them off and tossed them across the room, making her giggle. She reached for him and he crawled back into bed with her, kissing her all over her face and neck, nibbling at her earlobes one at a time. Then she was arching her back, gripping his hips with her hands. He pushed inside her, his arms wrapped around her, kissing her, feeling her moan into his mouth. They moved together, with him trying to follow her lead and move at a pace that felt good to her. Then he felt her digging her nails into him and she was making her soft little high pitched noises. He would have liked to keep going and maybe make her come again, but the sounds she was making put him over the edge and he pulled out of her quickly, spilling onto the sheet between her legs.

He collapsed on top of her, rolling to keep from putting too much of his weight on her. She was breathing hard, holding him tight as she buried her face in his chest. She felt him stroking her hair and her back. Usually once she got done, Jenny liked to run. But she found she didn't mind having Andrew close to her. He smelled like salt and sunshine with a hint of rum and she liked the way he held her, close but not too tight. Once she caught her breath, Jenny pulled away from him and stood up, walking over to the mirror in his room. She pulled at pushed at her hair a little, fixing it in the back where it had gotten smashed against the pillow.

The necklace looked even better on. The shells were white and bright against her dark skin and she liked the way the middle shell hung down, almost between her breasts but not quite that low. It was going to look good with the dress her sister made for her. Andrew watched her preening in the mirror, enjoying the view of her naked backside.

"Going to stare at yourself all night," he asked, "or are you coming back to bed?"

"I haven't decided yet," she said. She turned and gave him a beautiful smile. He loved the look of her even white teeth against the darker color of her lips. "Thank you for the necklace," she said, "its beautiful." He was propped up on his elbow now, watching her and smiling.

"You are very welcome."

"Got any pot?," she asked him. Well that was a quick change of subject, he thought. Jenny was picking her clothes up, but he was happy to see she was not putting them on. The first time they had sex she had gotten up and left right away. Instead she folded them neatly and placed them on the small table next to the bed. She reached behind her neck, to untie the necklace, her small firm breasts lifting up and jiggling with the movements of her arms.

"Yeah, you wanna have a smoke?"

"Yes please," she said, climbing back into bed and not being shy about sprawling out. He leaned over her and grabbed a little box that was sitting next to her folded pile of clothes. Then he pulled out a small glass pipe and a bag of pot, filling the small pipe. Lighters were hard to come by these days, so he picked up a thin piece of wood from the beside table and got up to light it on the candle that was lighting the room. He held the flaming tip to the pipe and sucked at it a little to get it going. Once it was lit, he got back in bed and handed it to Jenny. She sucked in the smoke, holding it in for a few seconds and then blowing it out. She had noticed there wasn't much left in Andrew's little box.

"That all you got left?," she asked. Andrew nodded, taking the pipe from her and hitting it.

"I was going to trade for some more while I was here," he said.

"I can just get you some," she offered, "My Aunt has like a thousand jars of it curing down in our basement." He leaned over, rubbing her hips and kissing her on the neck.

"Don't want you to get in trouble."

"I won't," Jenny said, "I can say I traded it for the necklace." That would be easier than explaining to her father how she came across such a beautiful gift anyway. She had been telling him men just gave her things for no reason, but that excuse was getting flimsier by the day. Denial was a powerful motivator for her father, but even he could only swallow so much bullshit before he choked. Besides, their personal stash was on one set of shelves, the rest was fine to use for trading. The alcohol they had was set up the same way. Jenny knew it wasn't necessary to ask permission before she made a trade unless it involved the animals or a large amount of food.

"You don't have to give me anything for the necklace," Andrew told her, his hand moving up her stomach to cup one of her breasts, "that was a gift."

"I know," Jenny said. Then she thought about it. Why was she offering to give him some weed anyway? She had never given anything to any other man, except her body. _Maybe you like him, its ok to like him. Just don't get too attached._ The necklace was a very extravagant gift, she convinced herself she was just being nice so she didn't owe him anything later. "So do you want it or not," she asked. He laughed. Jenny was cute when she was trying to act tough.

"Of course I want it," he told her, "but not as much as I want you." She smiled at him, feeling high enough to let herself swoon a little at the sound of such a nice compliment. He set the now empty pipe next to the bed and laid back, holding her close so she could rest her head against his bare chest. He was high now too, and his mind was starting to wander.

"What do you think your people are going to find at Camp Little Lake?," he asked.

"Nothing good," Jenny said sadly. The best that was going to come out of this was that her people might be able to salvage what supplies were left there. A pregnant woman wouldn't run away from her camp with no food and no supplies unless she had no choice, no matter how crazy she was. Andrew hugged Jenny tight against his chest for a moment. No matter how young, no one in the new world grew up without seeing some tragedy and horror.

"What you think about all the stuff about biters climbing walls?," he asked. He felt her shudder a little in his arms and immediately regretted asking his question.

"I try not to think about it," she said, "why?" She was thinking about that walker again now. Seeing it clearly in her mind because she was high.

"Nothing," he said, "forget I asked." He wanted Jenny to enjoy her time with him. If he upset her, she might not come back. She could tell by the way he said it that he had not asked the questions for no reason.

"Why?," she asked again, lifting her head up to look at him.

"Just saw some biters acting weird on the way here," he said casually, trying to think of another subject. Now Jenny was on full alert.

"What were they doing?," she asked. _Taking their pants down and showing you their rotting dicks?_ Andrew could tell by the way she was asking that she might have seen something herself. That would explain the shivering. He thought about what he had seen exactly.

When they were about a day and a half out from Alexandria, they had seen two biters shuffling along, a long ways behind them. No one had been concerned at first. When the biters got close enough, they would just take them out. And they were so far away, they were out of bow shooting range, and no one wanted to waste a bullet. But when they stooped for a break to water the horses, thats when the strange stuff started happening. When they stopped, the biters stopped. One of them even sat down on a log. With the break over, Seaside started walking again, and the biters started walking again. Staying back and well out of range. Andrew thought maybe they were not biters, but people that had covered themselves in biter blood as camouflage. It was not uncommon for small groups or individuals travelling alone to do this. And maybe they were scared of the people from Seaside, which is why they were staying back.

Andrew took a few men and darted into the woods off the main road. They doubled back and got around behind the couple. They meant to introduce themselves and offer to let the people travel with them. But when they walked up on them, they had not been people at all, but nasty rotting biters. And they looked like they had fed recently since there was fresher looking blood splashed across their chests. Andrew and his men took them out easily, but they couldn't explain the strange behavior they saw. When he heard the rumors about Little Lake, he had found them to be a little more believable than most people.

Jenny listened to his story, resting her head on his chest so he wouldn't see her facial expressions. It was on the tip of her tounge to tell him what she saw, since she guessed there was a small chance he might believe her. But then she would have to tell him about how she had been having sex with that other man. And she didn't want him to know about that.

"You think I'm crazy?," he asked her.

"No," Jenny said firmly, "I don't."

"You see something too?," he asked. She thought again about saying something, but changed her mind.

"No," she lied, "I haven't seen anything."

 **** I originally wrote Andrew for my lady claimers story. So he will be showing up in that one soon if anyone is reading both. ****


	10. Chapter 10

Hershel

Once he was inside the gates, Hershel put the safety on his gun and tucked it in the back of his pants. He plugged in one of the old cellphones they had into the equiptment at the radio booth and left one of the night time playlists on random. He sometimes stayed at the booth a little later, but he knew his mom was making chicken for dinner so he was in a hurry to get home and eat. Hershel hated butchering animals. He would help with it if he had to, but it was a chore he was more than happy to pass off to someone else or make an excuse to get out of doing. But as much as he hated killing the poor little critters, he loved to eat them. Especially his mom's chicken.

He could hear the twins play fighting out in the backyard and he walked around to check and make sure thats all they were doing. They had the little wooden swords that Carl made for them and they were swinging at each other, the wood making loud clacking noises when the swords hit against each other. Then he heard another voice calling down encouragement to his brothers from the porch. MJ waved and smiled when he saw Hershel coming. His dad and sister were out on the run to that other camp. And Hershel had passed Morgan and Jenny on their way to Spencer and Cassie's house. So it wasn't a hard guess that MJ's mom and Uncle had kicked him out of the house so they could be alone.

"Your mom and uncle kick you out?," Hershel asked.

"No they were being disgusting so I left," MJ said with a grin. Really his mother kicked him out because he was bugging them just like Hershel said. Down at the bar, his mother had put out a bunch of chopped vegetables and marinated pieces of meat, so people could spear them up and cook them over the campfires out back. So MJ could have gone down there and eaten. But Hershel's dad had run into him on his way down there and invited him over for dinner. "Do you mind if I stay over?," MJ asked.

"Course not," Hershel told him. They used to sleep over at each other's houses all the time when they were younger. The last year or two they had stopped, since it seemed like they were getting a little too old for it. But Hershel thought it sounded like fun. "I got a good deck of cards," Hershel told him. Cards were a popular pastime in Alexandria. Down at the bar, people played for credits or bet other things, but most of the kids played each other just for fun. The backdoor opened and Glenna walked out, almost falling on top of MJ. He turned and caught her to keep from being smashed like a pancake. She had seen Hershel coming back from the radio booth and hurried out here to talk to him. She had not known MJ was here.

"Damn Glenna," MJ said, "watch where you're going." She turned about ten different shades of red and turned to dart back into the house, but MJ caught hold of her chubby wrist. "You want to stay and play cards with us after dinner?" Glenna was as clumsy as a moose, but she was good at cards and if they had three people, they could play pinochle. Too bad Dixie was gone, or they could play spades. Glenna and Hershel were the best people to play against because they were hard to beat but they didn't cheat.

"Uh uh uh," Glenna stammered, "I have to ask my mom first." MJ let go and rolled his eyes at her. Ask her mom what? They lived next door for chrissakes. Hershel was looking at her too, but he looked more like he felt sorry for her, which made her feel even more embarrassed. Hershel's dad appeared in the doorway, blocking her escape.

"Ask your mom what?," he asked.

"If she can play cards with us after dinner," Hershel informed him.

"Its fine with me," Rick told her, "I will let your mom know." Glenna let out a audible sigh. Then Rick turned his attention to the twins. "No hitting in the face you two," he reminded him.

"Got to get 'im in the head," Nick informed his father.

"That's walkers not each other dummies," MJ told both boys. "You want to loose an eye like my cousin Duane?" Both boys stopped, looking horrified. Rick had to turn his back so they wouldn't see him laughing.

"Did he really lose an eye from playing swords?," Little Rick asked.

"Yep," MJ said, sounding very convincing. Even Glenna was smiling now.

"He sure did," Hershel told his brothers. The real story he had heard was that Duane got shot accidentally. But like all the stories their parents told them, he had a feeling important information was being purposely omitted. Like his mother getting her scars from falling down an elevator shaft when she was living at a hospital. And how MJ's dad had lost his hand. Glenna's mom liked to tell her that her dad died because he went outside the walls, but Hershel's dad had told him that her father had died inside the walls. By people they didn't see coming, which is why they needed to keep watch. Sometimes, Hershel just wanted to grab his parents and shake the truth about the past out of both of them. But they had to have their reasons for keeping quiet.

The twins went back to playing, being a little more mindful of each other's faces, at least for the moment. Rick went back inside to help Beth finish dinner. MJ moved down a few steps to give Glenna room to sit down. Hershel smiled at her, making her flush again.

"Too bad your sister 's gone," Hershel mentioned to MJ. She was good at cards. And Hershel liked any excuse to spend time with her. They could play with three, but cards were better with a fourth person. "What's your cousin Jenny doing tonight?," Hershel asked. MJ rolled his eyes. He was trying to think up an excuse, but Glenna saved him.

"What do you think she's doing?," Glenna blurted out before she could stop herself. Then she covered her mouth. Everyone knew where Jenny had been spending her time lately. Everyone except her father. Who probably still had some idea. MJ started laughing.

"You would think she would get bored of it after a while," Hershel said. He had never had sex, but it didn't sound like something a person would want to do everynight. MJ, being the only one of the three who actually had sex, thought diffently, but he kept his opinion to himself.

Dinner was good, chickens roasted whole stuffed with apples and onions and butter mixed with herbs sutffed up under the skin. There was summer squash and green beans on the side, something they ate almost every day this time of the year. It was so good, Hershel had to stop himself from eating too much. He saw Glenna's mom packed up another plate for later and took it home with her. Then his brothers were refusing to take their baths. MJ hauled them upstairs for their mother and then Hershel heard his mother swearing loudly and squealing from the upstairs hall. _Sweet baby Jesus._ She came down the steps, holding her stomach and laughing so hard her face was red.

"What in the hell is going on now?," his father asked her. She was sitting on the steps, gasping for breath. Rick started up the steps but Beth caught hold of his arm.

"Do not go up there. The twins didn't want to get in the tub unless MJ got in there with them," Beth said, trying to stop the laughter that kept bubbling out of her. "So he took of all his clothes and got in." She wiped at her eyes, "I did not need to see that." Hershel was laughing now too. Glenna was looking like she wasn't sure what to do. Hershel walked past his parents and started up the stairs.

"Come on MJ," he hollered, "I thought we were playing cards." He stopped in front of the bathroom and looked in. MJ was far too tall for their tub, so his legs were hanging over the side with his feet on the bathmat. The twins each had pointy hats and beards made out of bubbles. One of them was on each side of MJ and they were scooping up the rest of the bubbles and piling them on top of his head. Hershel was laughing hard now. "What the hell are you doing?," he asked his friend.

"I dont even know but there is a lot of soap in my eyes right now," MJ told him.

"Did you get naked in front of my mom?," Hershel asked him.

"Trust me, she liked it," MJ informed him. MJ didn't know what she had been cursing about anyway. Its not like she had never seen a naked man before. There was nothing else Hershel could do except laugh.

"Are you staying in there all night or are we playing cards?," Hershel asked him.

"Ok you guys," MJ told the twins, "get that little cup and rinse off my head and face." The twins did as they were told, rinsing the bubbles off and nearly drowning him simultaneously. "Ok Ok, I am rinsed enough." MJ tried to use his arms to push himself up out of the tub, but he was at such an awkward angle he slipped and ended up on his ass on the bathroom floor. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, then leaned down and let the water out of the tub. Grabbing each twin by an arm, he lifted them out of the tub and stood them on the bathmat. Then he handed them each a towel. They dried off and ran down the hall giggling like naked little imps. Hershel heard his dad yelling at them from the stairs.

"I am coming up, MJ, I do not want to see you naked."

"Come on and get dressed," Hershel told him, "lets play, you know Glenna won't be able to stay late." MJ nodded and pulled his pants on under his towel and then hung it on a hook in the bathroom. He pulled his shirt on but left his feet bare.

"Lets do this," he said.

Beth set the kids up with some drinks, they had some sipping cider she thought it would be alright for them to have. It was alcoholic, but not very strong. Then she went up to put the twins and herself to bed. Hershel wiped at the spot on his cheek where she kissed him goodnight.

"S'alright," MJ told him, "my mom still kisses me." Glenna smiled and sipped her cider. It was good. All they drank at home was water and iced tea or milk. She got the cards dealt out and they settled on the house rules. They made it about half way through the first game before her mother showed up and made her come home. Hershel could tell she was thinking about standing up to her mother, but he guessed she was afraid her mother might make another scene like the one out by the gates. That had been pretty bad. His Aunt Maggie was lucky Dixie's mom didn't beat her into the ground. He didn't know why his Aunt was so crazy, but his mother said she started acting off after Glenna's father died. He guessed maybe she had never really gotten over it.

The next morning, Hershel was up early to go run his radio booth. This was prime time for watching for visitors and announcing them, so he was spending even more time up there than he usually did. He didn't have to wait long before he saw a group of people coming up over the hill and into sight. Fumbling for his binoculars, too excited to see who it was to get freaked out by what he had seen through them the last time, he held them up and looked through. Then he hit the alarm. For a second he wasn't sure if he should sound the alarm once or twice. Judith, Lori and Rosita were coming home, but they had a lot of people from Hilltop with them. He decided on one ring. Then the alarm again. Then one ring. _People of Alexandria, we have family coming home. Hilltop is also here for their annual visit._ He figured that about covered it. Then Hershel turned around to look out the other window so he could see the flurry of activity that was about to go on inside the walls.

People were running out with their guns to start forming the gauntlet. A small group was heading over to Spencer and Cassie's house to get the horses. The people from Seaside were coming out of the bar, some still eating breakfast. He knew his people would encourage them to join in the gauntlet, which most people liked to do. It was a unique way to greet visitors. Then he saw MJ, tearing down the street from his house with his feet bare and his shirt unbuttoned, billowing out behind him like a sail. Most people in Alexandria could run if they had to, but MJ could really haul ass. He had his mother's long legs. Hershel watched him, it looked like he was heading for the horse pasture.

Cassie was out, hurrying to get some of the horses saddled up so people could ride them out to meet the guests. She looked up and saw her crazy cousin tearing ass towards her pasture. That damn kid was always up to soemething. He leaped the split rail fence like he was jumping over a puddle and started whistling for the horse he liked. It was a big black one with a black mane. They called it Beauty but a better name for it would be Asshole. MJ was the only one that liked to ride it, since it tried to buck everyone else off. He gripped the horse but its mane, pulling himself up onto it's back and holding in tight with his legs while it reared up and tried to get him off. Then he kicked in hard with his heels, and the horse took off running at top speed.

"Don't you jump my fence with that horse," Cassie was yelling, "God damn you MJ!" She watched in horror as he tore towards the fence, the horse's hind legs clearing the highest plank by only a few inches when he jumped it. At least he made it, she thought. Though a hard fall off a horse might knock some sense into him.

Hershel guessed what MJ was planning and had climbed down quickly from the tower and opened the gate wide. He only had to wait for a few minutes before MJ tore through, heading straight for the returning travelers. Some of them were a little nervous to see a partially naked man riding at them full speed on a giant half tamed looking horse, but they relaxed when Judith stepped out of the small crowd and stood in front of them. She stuck her right arm up in the air and waited. It was a move they had perfected as kids, much to all the fear and alarm of MJ's mother. She was convinced one of them was going to get trampled. Judith noticed RickyJo never told them they were not allowed to do it. Just that she thought they were going to get hurt. Then they were free to make their own choices.

MJ rode towards Judith, not riding as hard but still going faster than it seemed was safe to the people watching. He rode almost over her, catching her by the hand and whipping her up onto the horse behind him without slowing down. Some people from Hilltop just stared. But a lot of them also started clapping. This was an exciting start to what promised to be memorable summer meeting. Hershel watched MJ ride back, a little slower now that he had what he had been riding out to get. Judith waved and smiled at him as they passed the gate. He smiled back. Some people were already starting to line up for the gauntlet and they were all clapping and waving at Judith. She held on tight as MJ slowed the horse way down and tried to get it to fancy step.

Hershel took a good look at Judith. She had always been pretty, but she really looked good. Her skin was tan and her hair was down her back in waves, except for the side she kept shaved. She was in a pair of jeans and a snug leather vest that looked like maybe she had made it herself. He hoped she had, they needed a good leather tanner here in town. Jenny's mom and dad sometimes cured furs and made soft slippers out of them, but it was not their primary trade. She had a tank top on under the vest that was tucked into her pants. When she held her hand up to wave, Hershel noticed she had some new jewelery on too. And he didn't think MJ was going to like it.


	11. Chapter 11

Glenna

Glenna woke up with a stiff neck from falling asleep reading. She had every occult book she could round up from the small and very unorganized collection of books they had in town, but she had not found any answers in any of them. Next to to pile of books was an empty plate. Her mother had taken an extra plate of food from her Aunt Beth's house last night and brought it up to her while she was reading. She couldn't decide who she hated more. Her mother for bringing her the food, or herself for eating it even after she told herself she wouldn't.

She got up and dressed, putting on the same baggy shorts she had on the day before since they were one of the only things she had that fit. Glenna knew most people were looking forward to the summer fesitval, but she was dreading it. She hated wearing white and getting up on stage in front of everyone next to all the other girls that were so much more attractive than her. She didn't even know what she was going to wear. The dress she had worn the year before was so tight now that she couldn't even zip it. And white fabric to make a new one was hard to come by. Glenna had no job and wasn't skilled at any trades, so even if someone had some white fabric, she had nothing she could trade them for it. Her mother was no help, since she couldn't sew anyway. Glenna thought again about asking Sarah's mom, but she knew the woman was already swamped with all the people that were paying her to make them new festival clothes. She probably didn't have time to take on a charity case. When Dixie got back from her run, maybe Glenna would ask her for help. She always knew what to do.

Reaching down to pick up her dishes, Glenna knocked the pile of books on her bed onto the floor, one of them hitting her in the head on the way down. It fell open when it landed on the floor, and the picture it was open to made her jump back in shock. That night in the tree stand, her flashlight had flung around wildly when the walker had been after her. She had seen someone there in the shadows. It had been for a fraction of a second, but she had seen it. And whoever it was had been wearing a mask painted up like the one in this picture. It was black around the eyes and a black nose, with strange markings on the forehead between the eyes. Under the nose, the teeth were painted to look like a skeleton. The man in the picture also wore a necklace made of bones.

Glenna heard a knock at the door downstairs and hurried to mark the page before she shut the book. She could already hear her mother at the door trying to send whoever was there away.

"You can't see her right now, she's sleeping," Maggie was saying.

"No," Glenna called from the steps, "I am right here." She set her dishes down on the bottom step of the stairs and ignored her mother's hateful glance. Carl stepped inside without waiting for Maggie to invite him. The situation here between Maggie and her daughter had been going on long enough, and while he wasn't going to step in more than he felt was necessary, he thought it was time someone did something.

"I had something I wanted to talk to you about," he said to Glenna, "is this a good time?" Glenna nodded.

"This is not a good time," Maggie said, "Glenna needs to do her dishes." Carl took a deep breath and reminded himself to stay calm.

"I am a very busy man these days," he told Maggie, "I have something important I would like to discuss with Glenna. I'm sure the dishes can wait." He took a few steps towards Glenna and led her over to the couch with his hand on her back. She took a seat and he sat down on the couch next to her. He noticed Maggie was still hovering around, not sitting down but not moving to leave the room and give them any privacy.

"As you know, everyone here in Alexandria has a job to do," Carl started. Maggie didn't even let him get another word out.

"My daughter can not leave the walls, she has to stay here were its safe," she started saying, the pitch of her voice rising as she talked faster and faster. "She can't go off for a year like Lori did, she has asthma." Carl took another deep breath. While he thought sending Glenna away for a year might actually be the best thing for her, that was not what he had come here today to talk about. And he understood a mother's instinct to watch over her children. When LoriAnn had left for Hilltop, Sammie had cried in his arms for hours. But she had also let her go because she knew it was the best thing for her. Maggie couldn't seem to get a grip on the idea that sometimes being a mother means knowing when to let go.

"Glenna is not a child anymore," Carl told Maggie, raising his voice just a little to let her know he was not going to be screamed over and hen picked. "If she wants to stay here and live in Alexandria, she has to start contributing to the community." Maggie started in on that right away, saying there were people here that contributed less than they did.

"Like who?," Carl asked her. He doubted she could name a single person. She and Glenna had gotten away with not really having jobs for all this time because Rick and Beth and their kids did so much for the community and people associated Maggie and Glenna as part of that family unit.

"Bob," Maggie insisted, "he gets drunk all the time." Carl nodded, Bob did get drunk a lot, but when he was sober, he trained field medics. Lots of lives had been saved because of him. And Carl knew RickyJo made him work off all the alcohol he got from her by helping her and Jessica out making salves, tinctures and other kinds of herbal medicines.

"Bob trained all the field medics we have," Carl told her, "I don't care what he does on his personal time." You would think Maggie would have more sympathy for the man, since he had lost Sasha around the same time Glen died. Glenna saw her mother was finally taking a breath so she used her chance to get a word in edgewise.

"I want a job," she said.

"You will make yourself sick," Maggie insisted, "you need your rest." Glenna ignored her and turned to Carl to see what he was going to say.

"I was hoping you might agree to be our new librarian," he said, also ignoring Maggie and smiling at Glenna, who unlike her mother, looked excited at the prospect.

"That means taking care of all the books?," she asked. Carl nodded.

"And the movies," he said, "and RickyJo had been asking for someone to help with organizing all the dried herbal medicines we have, I was hoping you could help Maria with that once she gets back, since the spot we have picked for the library is right next to medicinal storage." Really Carl didn't give a shit about the library. He meant for her to start tutoring under people and learning about the herbal medicines. Glenna was smart and it seemed such a waste not to put her mind to good use. They could use a good herbalist since Old World medicines were getting harder and harder to come by. Right now, RickyJo was the only one they really had, and she was busy with her bar and boarding house most of the time. Dixie was starting to pick up on a lot of her mother's knowledge, but she was also one of their best hunters and took care of the largest group of poutry they had. RickyJo had already agreed to take Glenna on this winter and teach her what she knew, but part of that agreement was the Carl had to be the one to go and talk to Maggie about it. _If I have to talk to that crazy bitch I will end up sticking my foot straight up her ass._ Carl didn't want to get into all that right now, since he knew it would likely send Maggie over the edge. He was trying to take this in baby steps.

"I can do that," Glenna said. Actually she thought she might be good at it. She knew what the people in town thought of her. They thought she was fat and lazy and did nothing but sit around and suck up the fruits of their hard labor. In a time when not everyone had enough to eat, being obese was more than just a cosmetic problem. It meant that you were taking more than your fair share. And she had been watching all the other kids her age grown up and start taking on more responsibilities, something her mother would not allow her to do. She wanted this job and she wanted it bad. Carl stuck his hand out to her and she shook it awkwardly.

"You come find Sammie later today and she is going to help you get going on the library," he said. Then he stood up and gave Maggie a nod before letting himself out the front door. He wasn't sure how this was going to go over and he felt bad for Glenna. He had done as much as he could. If she wanted this, she was going to have to stand up to her mother and tell her so.

"They can just find someone else to take care of those books," Maggie started in, "I won't have you doing it. Dealing with all those men from out of town. And I know you were drinking last night." Glenna could feel her palms start to sweat. The old fear that if she left her mother, her mother would finish the job she started when she got that scar around her neck started to bubble up inside her. _You are the only reason I have for living. I was going to kill myself before until I found out I was pregnant with you. The only thing I have in this world, the only thing I have left of your father._ Glenna wiped her palms on her shorts and pushed it all down. She silently reminded herself of the things her Aunt Beth had told her. That it wasn't her fault her father died. That it wasn't fair for her mother to take it out on her.

"MOM!," Glenna hollered, interrupting the tirade that was just starting to get going, "listen to me mom."

"Don't you raise your voice to me," her mother said.

"Aunt Beth said I can go live with them for a while," Glenna told her mother, "maybe its not healthy for me here with you."

"I won't allow that," Maggie was pacing the floor now, pulling at her hair. It was a terrible thing to watch. "Who does Beth think she is? I am going straight over there and give her a piece of my mind."

"You can go over there and say whatever you want," Glenna said, "but I am still leaving. And maybe I will leave with Hilltop after the fesitval and go stay there for a while. I'm sure Uncle Rick could arrange for me to apprentice there, like Carl did for Lori. And I have heard they don't have many women there. I bet I could find a man that doesn't care about my looks. Maybe I will get married and start my own family. Maybe I won't come back." It was taking every bit of self control Glenna had not to burst into tears. But she had to do this. If she didn't she was never going to get out from under her mother's thumb. Maggie stood there, looking stunned. In that moment, she realized everything her daughter was saying to her was true. She stopped her angry yelling and started crying. She knew she was being manipulative, but someday Glenna would understand this was all for her own good.

"You would leave me here alone?," she asked, moving to sit down on the couch across from her daughter. "You know you are all I have."

"Well maybe I could stay," Glenna said, "if you agree to let me take the job at the library." That was the moment Maggie realized she had been had. There was no way she could say no to the library job now, or Glenna would be forced to carry out the threats she had made. And Maggie knew everything her daughter said was true. If she asked Rick and Carl, they would send her to Hilltop and they would not care what Maggie thought about it. And the men there wanted wives. She had been approached by plenty of them herself, and even by men much younger than her. Glenna would be able to find a husband there, no matter what she looked like.

"Alright," Maggie said. Glenna's face lit up in a huge smile. She reached across the couch and hugged her mother tightly. Then she leaped up and took off out the door before her mother could change her mind.

Glenna was about halfway down the street when she felt her stomach growling. She had left her house without any breakfast and she didn't want to go back for it either. The bar was on the way to Carl's house. Her mother had told her not to go in there ever without her. But she could smell good smells coming from inside. What would it hurt for her to go in there just to eat breakfast? Everyone else in town did it all the time.

Wiping her palms on her pants again, Glenna headed for the bar. There were a few men sitting out front with seashell necklaces on. They smiled at her and one gave her a little wave. She smiled back, her cheeks getting red and then she went inside. Jenny was with one of the men from Seaside, a very handsome one with tan skin and long blonde hair. They were over by the food, filling up their plates. One of Dixie's dads came out of the kitchen with a big basket of eggs and set them down next to a little station they had set up with electric hot plates and pans for people to cook their own eggs. There were small bowls of chopped veggies set up nearby. There were baskets of fresh bread and muffins next to a cutting board and some jars of jam and a dish of butter were set out on the other side. There were big pitchers of water and iced tea, and also some fresh orange and carrot juice, which was almost gone. There was also a big pot of coffee and some milk.

People were milling around. None of them looked mean or dangerous, like her mother had told her. It was mostly men, but there were a few women she didn't know with them. Most of them had the shell necklaces on, but there were a few that Glenna knew had been here longer and were probably looking for a more permanent place to live besides the boarding house. They had plenty of empty rooms at her house. She knew her mother had been asked many times if she would take on a boarder, but she always said no. Jenny was giggling with the man she was with, and opened her eyes wide with surprise when she saw Glenna standing there.

"Does your mom know you are here?," Jenny asked. They did not need another ugly scene. Glenna nodded, thinking maybe the truth was not her best option. Jenny guessed she was lying, but since she did her fair share of sneaking around, she decided not to say anything. "Well get a plate and come eat with us," Jenny said.

"You don't mind?," Glenna asked, glancing at Jenny and then with the man she was with.

"Course I don't mind," Jenny said, "this is Andrew." The man smiled at Glenna, revealing a missing tooth on one side of his mouth. Somehow the missing tooth made him even more attractive and Glenna blushed when he took her hand and shook it. "This is Glenna, she's cousins with the guy that runs the radio booth," Jenny explained to the man. Then they headed over to get something to drink, leaving Glenna alone in front of the egg station. She wasn't sure what to do. Her mother always made her meals for her.

"Can't decide whatcha want?," Dixie's dad asked her. She shook her head. He had a feeling maybe she didn't know what to do. "Make yourself some french toast," he suggested, "we got syrup."

"What's that?," Glenna asked.

"You ain't never had french toast before?," he asked her. The way he said it was like he was asking if she had ever breathed before. She shook her head. This was Dixie's nice dad, but he was still making her a little nervous. He looked just like MJ except for the red hair. "Go on and cut off a few pieces of that bread," he told her, "not that one, the brioche. The loaf thats shiny on top. That's the one." Glenna took the loaf and cut off a few medium sized slices. She handed them to him. He got a pan heating with some oil and butter inside it. Then he put the bread into a bowl with some beaten eggs, sugar and milk, moving it around until it was wet. Then he put the first slice into the pan. Once the eggy part was cooked through, he flipped it and told Glenna to get a plate. She held it out and he flopped the cooked bread onto it.

"Now put some syrup on it," he told her, pointing her over to the cluster of small jars by the bread. Glenna poked through the jars and found the one with the maple syrup. She drizzled a little on her plate and went to get a drink and some silverware. Once she had her things, she saw Jenny was waving her over to her table, where she was sitting with the man Glenna had already met and another man. The other man stood up and pulled a chair out for Glenna, which she sat down in, feeling a little uncomfortable. Andrew smiled at her.

"This is my first mate Greg," he told her, gesturing to the other man. "This is Glenna." Glenna looked up at the man for a moment and then back down at her plate.

"No reason to be shy honey," Greg told her. He and Andrew laughed. "After breakfast I got something out back in my tent that I would like to show you." Now Jenny laughed.

"What? Your tiny little dick?," she asked the man, "I don't think Glenna brought her magnifying glass." Now Andrew and Jenny were laughing. Glenna was looking at all of them with wide eyes, thinking that maybe she had made a mistake coming here.

"Make you eat those words princess," Greg told Jenny. Then he stood up and started unbuttoning his pants. Dixie's mom yelled at him from behind the food tables where she was refilling the iced tea.

"Don't you dare take your dick out in my bar Greg," she hollered, "you have already been warned." Glenna could tell RickyJo was trying to be serious, but that she really thought the whole thing was funny. Greg held his hands up in mock defeat and sat back down. He saw that everyone else was laughing, but the girl next to him looked absolutely horrified.

"Sorry," he told her, "I was just joking about the tent thing." Really he had been serious, if she was game, but it was clear she wasn't. He had never been with a woman that big. Jenny thought she better change the subject. This was gettting a little awkward.

"So what are you doing slumming down here anyway?," she asked Glenna.

"Going to Carl's house to get Sammie," Glenna said, "she was going to help me start getting the new library set up."

"Library?," Jenny asked, "thats like books and stuff right?" Glenna nodded. Both men laughed. These silly young new world girls barely knew what a library was. "You should stop by my house, there are piles of books going all up and down the stairs. My mom has been complaining about them. Maybe you could take them for the library?"

"Are you sure its ok?," Glenna asked. Jenny waved her off.

"I'm sure," she said, "they are all Uncle Merle's and he done already read them all. I can go with you to get them if you want." Glenna nodded. She would feel more comfortable that way, rather than just walking into their house by herself and loading up with books.

After breakfast, Jenny and Glenna headed over to Jenny's house for the books. They were loading them up into a wagon when the sirens went off. Then one ring, which meant people coming home. It was either Hilltop or the small group that went out on that run. Jenny hurried to turn the radio on so they could hear which one. It was Judith and Lori and Hilltop. Jenny started running around the house in a flurry of excitement. She flung open the gun safe.

"You can borrow one of ours, lets go out and stand in the gauntlet," Jenny told Glenna. Then she turned and saw the other girl's face. "You are not allowed to go out there are you?," she asked. Glenna shook her head and looked down, ashamed. "You don't mind if I go, do you?," Jenny asked

"Of course not," Glenna told her, "I will stay and finish getting these books together." Jenny looked at Glenna, feeling bad for her. It was so much fun to run out and greet people that were coming into town, get a look at all the men that were coming to visit, smile and wink at the cute ones. Plus, this was family coming back. Lori and Judith were related to Glenna by marriage and Rosita had delivered her when her mother had been in labor. It was sad that she was forbidden to go out and greet them. Jenny set an extra gun next to the safe in case Glenna changed her mind. Then she grabbed her shotgun and headed for the front gate. As she was heading down the street, getting ready to turn the corner, she had to jump back to keep from being trampled over. MJ was tearing through on that stupid asshole horse he liked to ride, with Judith on the back of it behind him. Jenny laughed and watched them ride back towards the house. Then she continued on her way.

Glenna was on the stairs, picking up another pile of books when she heard the backdoor swing open. It hit the wall behind it hard. There was already a hole in the wall there where the doorknob regularly got slammed into it. Then Glenna heard voices. _Put me down MJ._ Then laughter. Glenna tiptoed down the stairs and peeked around the wall to see who it was. It was MJ and Judith. He had his arms around her, trying to kiss her and she was trying to push him away. _Stop MJ, just let me talk to you a minute. We can talk later, let me give you a kiss first._ He lifted Judith up and set her on the counter, pushing between her legs and holding her tight against his bare chest. He was kissing her neck and face and Judith was alternating between trying to shove him away and laughing because he was tickling her. When he started trying to unbutton her vest, she had enough. Judith shoved him hard and kicked at him with her boot. _I said stop. Damn Judith, you didn't have to kick me. I need to talk to you. Well fucking talk then._

"I am getting married at the summer fesitval," Judith told him. MJ scrunched up his face, trying to understand what she was saying. He had been planning to propose to her when she got back from Alexandria. Did she already know that somehow.

"You could at least let me ask you first," he told her, "instead of being all demanding." Then she held up her hand. It had a diamond ring on it. "What the hell is that?," he asked.

"I told you I am getting married," she said. She had planned to introduce him to Rolland first. Maybe if he saw how happy they were together, he would give her his blessing. But that was clearly not how this was going to go. Why did he have to get so romantic, riding out on the horse like that. She was starting to tear up. MJ had always been good at making her feel special. It was keeping his dick out of other girls' mouths that he had a problem with.

"What the fuck do you mean you are getting married," he asked, "like to someone else?"

"Yes," she told him. He looked shocked for a minute, and then he started laughing.

"Funny joke," he told her. Then he grabbed at her hand, trying to yank the ring off her. "Jokes over, take it off." Judith was smacking at him now, trying to yank her hand back without pulling her ring off. If he got it, she was never going to get it back and it was a special ring that belonged to Rolland's mother.

"Let fucking go of me MJ," she was yelling. "I am not kidding, I am getting married to someone else, you asshole!" She stomped down on his bare foot and shoved him. She was remembering now why she had been so angry with him in the first place. Angry enough to leave her home and everyone she knew behind so she wouldn't have to look at him. "I saved myself for you and when we made love I thought it was special. Then the next day I saw you out behind the barn with your dick in Jenny's mouth!," she screamed. Glenna sat down hard on the steps, covering her mouth with her hands. This was not a conversation she was supposed to hear. There was no way for her to get out without them seeing her either. She was stuck here.

MJ was grabbing at Judith, trying to hold her, saying he was sorry. She shoved him off again.

"Never touch me again,"Judith told him. Then she stormed out. Glenna heard a loud crash that she guessed was MJ breaking something. She decided it was a good a time as any to try and make a break for it, but she forgot about the pile of books at her feet. She tripped over them and fell hard on the wood floor. Strong hands seized her and lifted her onto her feet.

"Hear all that?," MJ asked her. Glenna nodded.

"I.. I...," she stuttered, "I was just trying to get these books, I didn't mean to." His face looked twisted with anger. But then it collapsed and tears started running down out of his eyes. He sunk down on his knees in front of Glenna and really started bawling. Crying harder than he had cried since he was a little kid. Glenna wasn't sure what to do, but she felt terrible for him. It sounded like he had been a jerk, but it was obvious he was sorry. If she was Judith, she would give him another chance. Glenna knelt down next to him and patted him on the back, feeling lame. She had no idea what to say. It was the first time she had ever seen a grown man cry. MJ turned and wrapped his arms around her, sobbing into her hair and wetting her neck with his tears. She stiffened up a little and then relaxed and hugged him back. It felt strangely right, being held tight in his strong arms, her breasts pushed against his bare chest. Finally under control, his breathing slowed down and he let go of her, wiping at his eyes. He got to his feet and then gave Glenna a hand up.

"Thanks for the hug," he told her. His face was blotchy and wet and he was still sniffling. Maybe it was because she was still feeling pumped from standing up to her mother, or the hot feeling she had from being so close to such an attractive boy, but Glenna found a sudden rush of courage.

"She is stupid if she doesn't want to be with you," Glenna told him. Then she turned red and immediately regretted saying anything. He smiled at little at her, which made her think maybe she wasn't so stupid to say that after all.

"Thanks," he told her. Then he looked at Glenna. He had never really thought about her as a girl before, but more like an annoying little sister, like Dixie. Her face was red and her dark hair was hanging forward, covering most of it. Hugging her had felt good and her hair was soft and it smelled like maple syrup. "Come on," he told her, "I will help you with your books." She nodded, grateful to have something to do with her hands.

"Hey Glenna," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone I was crying, ok?" Glenna laughed.

"I'll take it to the grave," she promised.


	12. Chapter 12

Sarah

She was in the woods about half a mile outside town when she heard the sirens go off. They scared wolf and she barked at the loud noise before sitting down and howling. Sarah shushed her up, she wanted to hear how many times the bell was going to ring. Only once. She relaxed. It must either the group Dixie and Maria left with or the people that had been staying at Hilltop. Sarah was in no rush to run back to town and find out. Today she had felt the urge she often got. The urge to get out in the woods and be alone.

Alexandia was Sarah's home. She knew she was an accepted member of the community there. But she could always feel people's eyes on her. Watching her and waiting to see what she might do. Wondering if she might turn out to be as crazy as the man that fathered her. No one ever told her this directly. And people were kind to her. But she always felt like they were watching her when her back was turned. And it made her sad and angry. It wasn't her fault some man had killed her mother's people and raped her. And it wasn't her fault she wound up looking like him either. She tried to remember the words her stepfather told her. _Genetics do not define you. I am your father, not some dead man you never met._ Her mother told her the same thing, but she knew she looked at her brother differently that she looked at Sarah.

There was some movement in the brush and Sarah pulled the string on her bow back, waiting. Then she signalled to Wolf. The dog had been hunting with Sarah since it was a pup and it often flushed out prey for her. Wolf darted into the bushes, scaring out a large brown rabbit that was soon lying dead with Sarah's arrow through its head. She took her knife out to field dress it and then tied its feet to the string that was already holding two more rabbits that she had found in her traps. She had been thinking about taking them home for dinner, but since she had heard the sirens, she guessed there was going to be a big dinner at the bar tonight. She would probably just give the rabbits to Dixie's mom to help out with feeding everyone. RickyJo made an amazing hasenpfeffer, it was one of Sarah's favorite things. Her mind was wandering as she walked through the woods. Maybe if she brought the rabbits, Dixie's mom might teach her how to make the stew. She was always more than happy to exchange a cooking lesson for extra help in the kitchen.

Sarah had been thinking about asking Dixie's mom if she could just have a formal job over at the bar. She was always helping out there anyway. Her mother had tried to teach her sewing, but Sarah did not have a knack for it. All those tiny needles and thin pieces of thread. Plus sitting so still for so long, she could not do it. About an hour of that and she was rushing out of the house and into the woods to get some air to breathe. Her brother had turned out to be a natural at it, so her mother started teaching him instead. Sarah hunted and fished and set her traps, so she supposed she could just do that as her job, but she was eager to make more of a contribution to the town. Teach those people that they were lucky to have her as a member. Prove to them that she was not her father's daughter.

Sarah stopped and grabbed a long stick she could use to dig at the ground. There was some wild garlic growing and she dug up the bulbs and tied it to the side of her small backpack along with the rabbits. Then she started looking closer. Where there was some wild garlic, there was usually more. They had a lot of cucumbers coming in back in the gardens and she loved garlic dill sour pickles. They fermented them in big gallon jars on the counter for about a week and then put them in the fridge. They were good for about two months in there, but they usually didn't last that long.

Wolf darted off away with her nose to the ground, sniffing out some new exciting scent. Sarah kept walking, her bow slung over her shoulder now, digging up bulbs of garlic as she went. She held the scrapes of the garlic up to her nose and smelled them. Mmmhhhm, she said. It was funny how something that smelled so good could make your breath stink so bad. She walked a little further and bent down again, digging up another crop. Then she stopped and cocked her head to the side. There was a funny sound drifting through the woods. It sounded like a voice. But it wasn't speaking words that she could understand. Wolf was by her side suddenly, the hair on her back standing up, teeth bared. A low growl issued from her throat.

"Sssshh," Sarah told the dog, "keep quiet and lets go take a look." Sarah took off her backpack and shoved it into the bush next to her so she would be lighter on her feet. She had a large hunting knife strapped to her leg and her bow with plenty of arrows. She signaled Wolf to stay close to her and started walking silently through the wood towards the noise. As she got closer, she could hear the words more clearly, but still could not understand them.

"Tu es mon démon!," the voice called out, "Faire ma bête de morts-vivants d'appel d'offres!" Sarah knew enough to know it wasn't Spanish. It sounded musical and had an accent to it that was strange to her ears. She kept quiet and creeped closer. Now the voice was singing and chanting. She was almost close enough to see the person now. Wolf was growling again and she had to stop and shut the dog up. Whatever was going on, she wanted to see what it was without the person knowing she was there. If Wolf charged in there barking, she would give them away. For some reason, Sarah had an eerie feeling that the strange singing was somehow connected to the skinned walker they saw the other day. If there was some lunatic person hiding out near their walls, Sarah wanted to know what they were up to. She was also aware that she had gotten off track looking for the garlic. If she had planned to go this far away from the walls, she would not have gone out alone. Out here, there would be no one to hear her scream.

Crawling slowly now, Sarah got behind a thick bush. She could see the man, but she was hidden from view. She kept her arms around her dog and watched. There were two walkers lying on the ground. A man with a strange looking mask on was walking around them in a circle chanting. He stopped every once in a while to shout out in the strange language again. Someone from the old world might have recognized it as cajun french, but Sarah had never heard anything like it before. Then he knelt down and cut a finger off each one on the walkers. The necklace he was wearing dangled forward, swinging back and forth while he worked. Sarah got a sick feeling in her stomach when she realized the necklace was made of human bones. The man put the fingers away in a small bag on his hip. Then he picked up a bag off the ground that she had not noticed before. He reached into the bag and pulled out a tiny baby rabbit.

Sarah killed rabbits and ate them for food, but she had no idea what someone would want with such a tiny one. And she felt bad for the fuzzy little creature. She had a feeling she didn't want to see what was about to happen to it. The man grasped the tiny animal and ripped it limb from limb.

"Vous êtes mes esclaves maintenant!," the man yelled, making Sarah jump. He splashed the blood on the fronts of the walkers and then rubbed the rest of it on his hands. He started circling the walkers again, doing the weird sing song chant he had been doing before. Then he stopped at their feet. He put his arms out straight and tipped his head back.

"Se lever!," he said, "se lever se lever se lever..." Sarah felt the bile rising up in the back of her throat as she watched the bodies on the ground start to twitch and jerk about. What in the holy hell was going on out here? She had thought maybe the guy was going to skin the walkers, and she was worried he might be dangerous to anyone he caught out here alone. But this was something different. This was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. She hugged her dog tight, not only to keep the animal from charging at the man, but also for her own comfort. Maybe she was asleep and having some kind of nightmare? There was no way she could really be seeing what was going on in front of her.

The man spread his arms out wider and kept up the chanting. The walkers moved and jerked until they were both on their feet. Then the man started dancing around in a circle again, only this time the walkers were dancing with him. They were jerking and twitching like some kind of morbid puppets. And Sarah realized it was because the man was controlling them. The dancing walkers were more than Wolf could take and the animal broke free from her arms and darted through the brush to bark and growl at the strange creatures. Sarah had no choice. She stood up and showed herself, her bow strung back, arrow notched and pointed at the man.

"Mon beau l'un," the man said, gesturing to Sarah. "Vous joindre à moi!," he said. Then he pointed towards Sarah. The walkers started shuffling towards her, arms reaching. Sarah put an arrow in one of them. Then she ran, calling her dog and praying that the animal was following her. In a moment she saw the Wolf streaking along next to her, as eager as she had been to get the hell out of there. Sarah could her the man's laughter drifting throught the woods after her. But it didn't sound like anyone was chasing her. She saw a familiar patch of bushes and ran behind them, kneeling down to get her bag and her rabbits, the sight of them making her stomach turn. She pulled the straps of her backpack tight as she kept an eye out for anyone or anything that might be following her.

Then she turned and started running for home. The leaves crunched loudly under her feet and branches tore at her hair and clothes. But she did not care, she just kept running. She ran until her lungs were burning and her thighs were aching. She didn't slow down until the saw the high walls of Alexandria looming up in front of her.


	13. Chapter 13

**** So I noticed I made a oops. I had Rick out on the run with Abraham and Merle and also had him at his house in Alexandria at the same time. So Spencer went on the run and Rick stayed home. That was the only thing in the chapters that I changed, so no need to reread unless you want to. ****

Maria

Maria picked up the edge of the tent and walked it over to Dixie, then grabbed at the bottom edge and stepped back, trying to get the material flat so it would fit back in the bag. Once it was folded over double, they set it down on the ground and Dixie started rolling it up as tight as she could. Maria walked over to check on her only patient. The only person they found alive in Little Lake was a young man hiding in a root cellar. Besides the pregnant woman and her children that were currently living in Hilltop, he was the only survivor of the attack on Camp Little Lake. His story had been very similar to the one Maria had already heard. He had been scared, but much calmer than the woman and had described what happened to the camp in too much detail for him to be making any of it up.

He had been going about his normal daily chores, and was scooping compost out of a pile with a long pitchfork and putting it in a wheelbarrow, when he had heard screaming. He walked around the corner of the barn and the walkers were just pouring in over the fences. There was no stopping them. They were moving faster than any walkers he had ever seen. He insisted some of them had weapons in their hands. Rock and bricks and things. He saw his father running at the things with a large hatchet. One of the things had wrestled it out of his hands and then pounced on him, ripping his throat out with its teeth. _And I ran. God help me I ran. I hid in the cellar and listened to everyone I have ever known be torn apart and eaten._ Dixie sat down next to the man and rubbed his back. She knew he felt like a coward, but sometimes it was best hide and live to fight another day.

Maria watched her dad walk away mumbling about how it was all a bunch of crazy nonsense. But Maria did not agree. They had taken a good look at the skinned walker and Dixie had told her about the one that had thrown the snake at her. Maria was thinking maybe this was being done by a group of people that were disguising themselves as walkers. Maybe they took the skins off and dressed up in them or something. Most people knew that you could camouflage yourself if you rubbed their blood and guts on your clothes. This could be like a more advanced form of that.

But why would another group want to kill everyone in Camp Little Lake? They had not taken over the place to live in it. There was no one here. And they had not taken the supplies and food either. Those were loaded up in the back of the trucks. Why wipe out a whole camp and not take their stuff. It didn't make sense. Maria knew groups went to war with other groups. It happened a lot back at the beginning of the outbreak. People were desperate, hungry and scared.

All that was understandable to Maria. But this was something else entirely. Whoever did this was sick and disgusting. Entire families had been slaughtered for no reason at all. Even the women and the children had not been spared. And women were valuable. After living at Hilltop, she understod that better than she had before. Men were lonely and hard up. A lot would be willing to pay for a woman if someone had one to sell. When groups had been overtaken in the past, the group doing the taking usually killed the men and kept the women and children captive. The kind of mass slaughter that happened at Hilltop was just senseless. She was having a hard time coming to grips with it.

Maria and Dixie climbed into the truck with Dixie's dad. The girls scooted in close together so the young man from Little Lake could sit with them. It was a bit cramped and Maria was glad they were only a few hours from home. The night before, Dixie and Maria had lay quiet and waited for her Aunt Jessica to fall asleep. Then they had talked for a long time, about Hilltop and home, and about what happened at Little Lake. Dixie had been adamant about one thing. Walkers were not going around, surgically peeling the skin off other walkers. That was being done by a man. And a man could be tracked and killed. Maria was more comfortable saving lives than taking them, but she understood the need to protect their home. She would not want to see what happened at Little Lake happen at Alexandria.

Merle noticed the girls were quiet on the way back. None of the chatty conversation they had been having on the way there. The scene at that camp had been a real nasty one. He wished Dixie and Maria had not been there to see it. A scene like that, with little dead children roaming around, that was the kind of thing that got in your head and stayed there. It had been a long time, but there were nights when he still woke up in a cold sweat, dreaming about the things he had seen at terminus. Horrible nightmares about them bringing MJ out on a platter with an apple in his baby mouth like he was a fatted calf. RickyJo never had to ask him what the dreams were about. She had them too. _Go down the hall and peek in on him. You will feel better when you see him safe in his bed._ Merle had thought it was a stupid idea, but he had done it anyway. MJ had been lying on his side, snoring softly with his baby blanket clutched to his chest. The one he hid under his pillow since he was really far too old to still be sleeping with it. Merle had pulled the sheets up to cover him all the way and smiled down at his son. Even though he was almost a man, he still looked just like his mother when he was alseep. Merle had laughed a little to himself, RickyJo knew her shit. The dream was gone from his mind now, like he never had it in the first place.

"You girls alright?," Merle asked. They both nodded their heads and said they were fine. How quickly they said it made him wonder if there was more going on than being upset about what they had seen. These girls were up to something. Maria smiled at him. She could see Dixie's dad was thinking about asking them some more questions, but thankfully the young man in the truck with them started up his blubbering again, causing a distraction.

"What am I going to do now," he said, wiping at his face, "everyone I know is dead." Merle rolled his eyes and decided it was best to leave this for the girls to deal with. The kid wasn't going to like what he had to say, which was shut the fuck up and stop crying in my truck. Maria put her arm around the young man.

"You know us now," she reminded him, "and you can stay at Alexandria as long as you like." The boy was happy for the offer. But he had heard things about Alexandria. Mostly that the women there would cut your dick off if you looked at them wrong. The two girls in the truck with him were the prettiest he had ever seen in real life. He thought girls only looked like that in old world pictures. He was torn between getting excited to be close to them and being afraid for his life if he looked at them. They seemed nice so far, and the girl with the dark hair was even a doctor.

The conversation died off after that, the boy leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes. The next thing Merle knew, he felt Dixie's sleepy head on his shoulder. He put his arm around her. The boy had done the same for Maria and they were both asleep. Some copilots you lazy kids are, Merle thought with a smile. He had heard the girls up late the night before, whispering to each other in their tent. They must not have gotten much sleep.

Merle saw some activity up ahead. It looked like a caravan of people. Merle slowed the truck down, he didn't want to come up on these people too quickly. Then he saw a familiar face and stepped on the gas. Pulling up next to a wagon full of people, he honked the horn and used his knee to steer while he stuck his arm out the truck window, middle finger up.

"Hey Michonne," he yelled, "fuck you!" He saw her flip him the bird back and then she was laughing and waving at him. The people in the caravan were catching on that the two people knew each other. Most of them were enjoying the show. But the tiger in the back of Michonne's cart was not. It leaped out of the cart and into the road, directly in front of Merle's truck. He had to slam on the brakes to keep from running the goddamn thing over. His sleepy passengers found themselves nearly throw into the dashboard, except for Dixie, who Merle had ahold of. The tiger jumped up onto the hood of the car and let out a ferocious roar.

Dixie woke up to see a huge tiger almost in her face and she let out a scream loud enough to beat the band. She had always had a set of lungs on her, and when she was little, she used to shriek so loud it would drive you batty if it didn't make you deaf first. The only noise Merle could think to compare it to was twenty cats getting their tails stepped on all at once. And this time she had let it out directly into his ear. Maria was awake now and was sitting perfectly still, her eyes wide in terror at the huge animal. Merle honked the horn.

"Get your fucking cat off this truck," he shouted at Michonne and the man with her. His ears were ringing and he had a feeling he wasn't going to be hearing so good out of the right one for a while. He honked the horn some more. "Piss off dumbass!," he yelled at the cat. The white haired man with his arm around Michonne called to the tiger and it jumped down and leaped back up into their wagon. Dixie was too little to remember, but that tiger had been a guest in their house once, when Michonne and Ezekiel had come back to Alexandria to get married. The fucking thing had taken a giant tiger shit in one of their bathtubs and RickyJo had thrown a total fit. Seems she had gone in to take a shower and stepped right in it.

"Oh my god," Maria yelled, trying to stand up in the small cab of the truck, "he peed his pants." She and Dixie were both squealing and shrieking now, clambering all over Merle in an attempt to get away from the young man in the car and the puddle that was rapidly spreading out under his ass and down his legs.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Merle cursed, slamming the car into park and opening the drivers side door. Both girls spilled out into the road in a tangle of legs and Dixie's long hair. They were laughing now. Then Maria was up, twisting and turning to try and inspect her pants to make sure she didn't have the boy's pee on her. Dixie was up and trying to get a better look at the big cat, more curious than scared now that it didn't look like it wanted to tear her limb from limb anymore.

"What is it?," Dixie asked. The man with the dark skin and white hair smiled at her.

"Its a tiger and her name is Shiva," he told the young woman. She got a little closer, putting her hand on the wagon. She was a brave girl, he had to give her that. The young woman seemed very familiar to him and he suddenly realized who she must be.

"Good Lord," he exclaimed, looking towards Merle, "is this your daughter? The last time I saw her she was nothing but a little squirt." Merle climbed out of the truck and smiled at the man, deciding for the time being to ignore the young man that had just pissed all over the inside of his truck.

"She looks just like RickyJo," Michonne commented. Dixie smiled, she liked when people said she looked like her mother. Her mother was beautiful.

"Would you like to pet her?," Ezekiel asked Dixie.

"Can I?," she asked with a bit of wonder in her voice. He took her hand in his and let Shiva sniff at it, the girl's scent mingled with his.

"Now its ok for you to pet her," he said. Dixie moved slowly, she knew how to act around animals. She stroked the top of the tiger's head and scratched behind its ears. It turned and licked her arm, its bumpy rough tounge tickling her. Maria watched her, Dixie had not changed in the year since Maria had been gone. She was never afraid of anything. Maria saw her father walking up with Spencer and Jessica. They had parked their truck a little ways back when they saw the tiger jump on Merle's truck. They knew the tiger wouldn't hurt anyone, but they still didn't want the thing scratching up their truck. Michonne climbed down and everyone started hugging her and talking. The people from the Kingdom got down off their wagons and came over to meet Michonne's old friends.

Maria watched the people getting to know each other with a smile on her face. This is how it should be when people meet on the road. Jessica was getting a radio out of her bag and giving it to Michonne, scolding her for not having one. It was Alexandrian tradition to turn one on and wait for the radio station to start tuning in. Thats how you knew when you were almost home. Abraham and Merle were catching Ezekiel up on what was going on in Alexandria. Deanna was dead and Carl had been elected leader. That made tears of pride well up in Michonne's eyes. Carl had been like a son to her once. It had been a dicey there for a minute on how he was going to turn out, and she was proud to hear how well he was doing.

"Dad," Maria said, yanking and his sleeve to get his attention, "did you bring any extra pants?" Abraham looked at her. Extra pants, what the hell did Maria want his pants for? She nodded towards the young man that was sitting in the truck, looking ashamed. Abraham walked over and swung the drivers side door open, peering inside.

"Son of a dick," he remarked to the boy, "you got some toughening up to do if we are going to make you an Alexandrian."


	14. Chapter 14

LoriAnn

"Sure you don't want to go down to the bar for breakfast?," Sammie asked her daughter. Then she hugged her again, not used to the feel of how muscular she had become over the last year. Lori smiled and hugged her mom back. Her mom had been hugging her since she got home. She told Lori she didn't realize how much she missed her until she got back. Her dad was already gone, off to do another thankless errand. Now that he was the leader of Alexandria, his time was never his own.

"No mom," I just want to have breakfast at home," Lori insisted. She didn't care where she ate, but she knew her mother wanted to cook her a special breakfast and was worried that she was keeping her from her friends.

"I know I want to eat here," Judith chimed in. Lori knew she didn't care where she ate either, she just didn't want to run into MJ again. He already came over the night before, trying to bring her flowers. Carl sent him away, but sooner or later, Judith was going to have to deal with him. Lori's mom hugged her again, then went to the fridge and pulled out the breakfast casserole she had already made the night before so she could put it in the oven.

"Mooom," Lori said, "if you already made that, why would you ask if we wanted to eat at the bar?"

"I didn't want to make you feel bad if you would rather go see your friends," her mother told her. Lori's brother danced around her mother, trying to see what was in the casserole dish. Sammie showed it to him and then sent him outside to feed the chickens. At the mention of the word chickens, Lori felt a chill run up her spine, and she rubbed at her arms, trying to force the memory of her dream out of her head.

She had been having the dreams every night since she heard the crazy story that woman from Little Lake was telling. It annoyed her that she let that woman's crazy story affect her. Some of the dreams seemed like something that already happened and some of them seemed like they might be things she was scared might happen in the future. They were so vivid, it was getting to the point where she was afraid to go to sleep. And last night had been the worst. She had been wearing a long white nightgown, the old fashioned kind flocked with lace with big bell sleeves and little thin pink ribbons that hung loose and blew in the breeze when she stepped down off the back steps. And there were all the chickens and rabbits they kept, laying dead in the yard, each one with their heads cut off or their endtrails spilling out. Small puddles of blood surrounding them. A walker was knawing at one of the them, with its back to her. She knew she shouldn't get any closer, she had no weapon to protect herself. But she found herself drifting towards it anyway, her feet barely touching the ground. Lori reached down and touched the monster lightly on the shoulder, and when it turned to face her, she saw her mother's face.

Lori woke up shaking and drenched in sweat. She had gone in the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. That didn't help so she had gone downstairs and taken a nip off the bottle of whiskey her father kept in the cupboard above the sink. It tasted terrible, but at least it stopped her hands from shaking. She had gone out the back door and peeked inside the coop, where all the fat lazy birds were still sleeping on their perches. They raised meat chickens, the kind with fluffy little feathered feet and big meaty chests. Most of the spring broilers had already been slaughtered and processed but the summer batch was still inside, some still small enough to be sleeping in the nests under their mothers. And the Jersey Giants were high up on the perches, they were so big they almost looked like small turkeys. There didn't seem to be any immediate danger to any of them. And there were certainly no walkers around.

Lori knew there was no way she was going to be able to fall back to sleep, so she walked down to the spot her dad picked out for the blacksmith shop they were going to build for her. She was glad Rolland was here for a few weeks to help set it up. Lori was still hoping he and Judith would change their minds and decide to stay in Alexandria and live, but she knew that had been a pipe dream even before the stuff with MJ had happened. Now there was no way he was going to want to stay. Judith had told Rolland that she had a childhood boyfriend back home, but Lori guessed she must have left a few things out of that story. Like that she had never officially broken up with him, and that he was expecting Judith to marry him when she got back. MJ had been quite a sight riding out on that big black horse, swinging Judith up behind him. It had taken Lori's breath away. People were going to be talking about that for a long time. Lori heard Judith and Rolland arguing about it in their room after everyone went to bed. She wished she could help, but this was something they were going to have to work out alone.

The oven gave its little beep beep noise, saying it was ready, and Lori's mom opened it up and stuck the full baking dish inside. Then she turned off the dehydator that had been running all night, full of blueberries. She emptied them into a large glass jar and then Lori helped her fill the dehydrator back up again. Hilltop had brought bushels and bushels of blueberries. Dixie's mom was in charge of them, and she dolled a large portion of them out to everyone in town so they could help her put them up for the winter. The deal was, whatever amount they helped her preserve, they got to keep twenty five percent and the rest they had to give back to her. It worked out well for everyone that way.

Since she was Carl's daughter, her family would have gotten a cut anyway, even if Sammie wasn't helping. Being the leader was very time consuming job that didn't generate anything that could be bartered or traded. Back when Deanna had been in charge, they had come up with what Dixie's mom liked to joke and call ' candy tax'. Some portion of everything that came into town had to be given to the leader. Lori knew some of it went to people like Sarah's dad, who kept the power running and some went to the medical team, who worked long hours with nothing to show for it except healthy patients. Jobs like that had to be done, and the people who did them needed to be compensated. Hershel's dad usually got a portion, since he was in charge of security and Hershel ran the radio station. Deanna had been training Spencer to run the town for her, not Lori's dad, so Carl was faced with figuring things like this out on the fly.

Lori heard the front door. Her dad was back, and just in time for breakfast. He poured himself a glass of iced tea and sat down next to her mother, pulling her close and kissing her briefly on the cheek. He smiled across the table at his daughter. They were going to make getting her blacksmith shop built the number one priority aside from getting all the fesitval stuff set up. He was so proud of her. Carl and Sammie had always been worried about every parenting decision they made, especially since they had been only children themselves when they had her. But Carl could see now they had done just fine. She had turned out to be a strong and very responsible young woman. He knew Sammie was worried their daughter might come back from Hilltop with a husband, and he was happy to see she had not. He had never regretted starting his family as young as he did, but he and Sammie had come of age out on the road. He wanted Lori to have a chance to be a normal teenager, whatever that meant these days.

They managed to get about halfway through breakfast before the sirens started going off. Judith scrambled for the radio, twisting the volume knob up so they could hear what Hershel was saying. The sirens were followed by one loud beep. _This is Hershel Grimes, broadcasting to you from the top of the belltower. We have family coming home and visitors with them._ Carl jumped up with some excitement. Since most of the other large groups were already here, he knew there was a good chance these visitors were from the Kingdom. And that Michonne might be with them. She was the closest thing he had to a living mother and he had not seen her in years. Sammie was unlatching the cupboard where they kept their big guns. She handed Carl the shotgun she knew he liked and then grabbed one for herself. Rolland was watching, his eyes wide as Judith and Lori pulled out large automatic weapons and tossed them over their shoulders. Lori's little brother ran back in from outside and was handed a large shotgun. Judith ran over and handed him a hunting rifle, which he held like it was a disease, looking at the weapon skeptically. In Hilltop, they did not greet their guests with loaded weapons.

"Its fun," Judith told him, "come on." The excitement in her eyes was enough to change his mind and he slung the rifle across his back and followed her out the front door. Near the front gate, people were already lining up on either side of the road. The people from Alexandria were all holding guns, but most of them were smiling. Lori stood next to her parents and gestured for Judith and Rolland to stand next to her. More and more people were coming out and lining up and down the street. Lori saw Jenny across the street with her Aunt and Uncle and waved to her. There was a very handsome blonde man standing next to her with a shell necklace on. He had a gun in a holster on his hip, but he didn't take it out. Hershel had come down from the radio booth and he opened the gate from outside. Then he came and squeezed in next to Lori. She gave him a quick hug. Maybe her mom had been right about eating down at the bar. She didn't realize how much she had missed everyone. And her home.

There was a whistle from behind her, and Lori quickly moved to let Cassie get through on her horse. She rode out the gates and out to the truck to meet her husband. The truck stopped for a moment so Spencer could climb out, and then he swung himself up onto the horse behind her. People went out on runs all the time. And they almost always came back. But everyone knew there was always a chance that someone might die out there. Family members returning home were always greeted with a lot of enthusiasm. As Lori watched them riding back she saw a few walkers wander up and stand strangely on the side of the road out near where the caravan was coming through. It was almost like they were forming their own gauntlet. And it gave Lori the chills. The truck Maria's dad was driving swerved to the right and ran them down, splashing blood and guts everywhere. People were laughing and cheering.

The trucks pulled through first. Everyone inside them was waving and they were honking the horns. They pulled down past the gauntlet and parked off to the side of the road. Then they all climbed out and ran to find their loved ones. Rosita hugged her daughter and husband and Lori saw Jenny hugging her mother. Jenny's father crossed the street where he had been standing with his son and hugged them both. Spencer and Cassie had climbed down from the horse and let their son climb up and sit on it so he could have a better view of the visitors as they came in. Lori saw they were kissing each other on the mouth.

It was going to be a few more minutes before the wagons pulled in, so Lori darted across the street and hugged Maria.

"Where's Dixie," she asked her. She saw her dad get out of one of the trucks. Now he was lifting her mother up off the ground, kissing her and making her laugh.

"She's riding with the leader and his wife on their wagon," Maria said, "and wait until you see what they gave her!"


	15. Chapter 15

Dixie

Michonne glanced over at the young girl sitting next on the other side of Ezekiel, her face cracking up into a smile. Dixie had been holding and petting that tiger cub for so long, it was a miracle that the thing didn't have bald spots. Shiva gave birth to three tiger cubs. And now that they were a few weeks old, Ezekiel had been planning to trade them for things he wanted and needed for their camp. Not everyone would be interested in a pet tiger, but those that were might be willing to pay a lot to get one. Of course that was only going to happen if he stopped giving them away.

Ezekiel felt it was more important to find good homes for the baby tigers, but he would like to get make some trades for the other two. When he saw the wide eyed look on that young girl's face when she pet Shiva, he knew she had to have one of the cubs. She had not stopped smiling since he handed it to her. Her father had taken one look at the thing and thrown his hand up. _You can explain this to your mother yourself._ Ezekiel could tell the man did not have the heart to tell his daughter no, and Michonne had laughed, her beautiful smile lighting up her face.

Dixie held what she considered to be her new baby carefully in her arms. She had already asked Ezekiel about ten thousand questions about how to take care of it properly. When she got home, she was planning to cook her new baby a chicken dinner. She also wanted to train the tiger to go hunting with her. If Sarah's wolf could do it, Dixie bet a tiger was smart enough to learn. The little radio next to Michonne crackled, a few tunes to a song slipping throught the static.

"Did you hear it?," Dixie asked, her voice filled with excitement, "we are almost home."

"Maybe we should start our own radio station," Ezekiel mentioned. He found he was really enjoying the idea of turning on the radio and waiting to hear the music tune in. And though she was trying to hide it, he could tell Michonne was waiting eagerly to hear something. She never regretted leaving Alexandria to start a new life with him, but he knew she had people there she still cared about and missed.

"You could start one," Dixie told him, "but it won't be the same because you won't have Hershel to run it." Ezekiel smiled.

"Is he your boyfriend?," he asked her. Dixie wrinkled up her nose like that was the nastiest thing she ever heard. Michonne could see so much of her mother in her, RickyJo had never been known for her poker face either.

"I don't have a boyfriend," she informed them, like boys were the grossest thing ever. And in Dixie's opinion, they were. No way was she letting some boy stick his thing in her. What if he accidentally peed in there? Just plain nasty. And according to Jenny, thats the only thing boys liked to do. Kissing one might not be so bad, if he was nice. But the rest of it, no way.

"Hershel is Rick's son," Michonne reminded him. Ezekiel nodded. He remembered Rick, he was the one with the pretty little blonde wife. She had the little boy everyone kept thinking was a girl because he was so pretty. That must be the boy Dixie was talking about. Ezekiel wondered if he was still as pretty as he had been as a child.

They were heading up a hill, and when they got to the top, the music started coming through loud and clear. It was song Dixie knew well and she started singing along. Ezekiel tried to hide his smile. Dixie was a pretty girl, but her singing voice was bad. Real bad. Michonne leaned down and turned the radio up to drown her out. The little tiger started to stir so Dixie stopped singing. After some more petting, the cub settled back down in her arms.

Dixie loved the looks she saw on every person's face when she rode into town holding the small tiger in her arms. Once there was enough room for the rest of the carts to pull in beside him, Ezekiel pulled off to the side and stopped the horses. A tall young man with flaming red hair ran up, talking to the young woman in his cart.

"Holy crap Dixie," MJ said, "what you got there?"

"A tiger cub," she said, then she pointed to the very large tiger in the back of the cart behind her.

"Holy shit," MJ hollered, "that is one big fucking cat!"

"You want to pet her?," Michonne asked him.

"Fuck no!," he said, backing away and keeping his eye on the large animal. Michonne laughed.

"Stop being a turkey and hold this little one so I can climb down," Dixie told her brother. He came forward again and took the tiger cub into his arms. Dixie climbed down and quickly snatched it back. He stayed close to her and stroked the animal, feeling how soft the fur was, especially around its ears.

"You think mom is going to let you keep that thing?," MJ asked.

"Daddy Merle already said I could," she told him. That wasn't exactly true, but he didn't say she couldn't keep it.

"Do you think we could teach it to go hunting with us?," he asked. Dixie looked up at her brother with a big smile. How did he always seem to know just what she was thinking? "Can I hold it again?" Dixie nodded and handed the tiger to her brother. He cradled it in his long arms like it was a baby and when he scratched its ears, she could hear it purring just like Miss Kitty did. Then she heard her mother's voice.

"What in the hell is that?," RickyJo called out, walking quickly towards where her children were standing with Merle and Daryl trailing behind her. MJ quickly shoved the cat back at his sister and stepped away. Dixie held the cub protectively. There was no one on this earth that was going to make her give it back. Shiva grunted a little welcome to the woman, who's scent was familiar to her. RickyJo threw a dirty look in the large cat's direction. She had not forgotten what that thing had done to her bathtub. Then she looked at Dixie and shook her head. She turned to Michonne.

"I know you didn't give my daughter a pet tiger without asking me," she said to the woman. Michonne climbed down from the cart and wrapped her arms around RickyJo, hugging her tight. She held her middle finger up at Merle and gave him an evil grin.

"Merle said it was fine," she lied. Dixie saw her opportunity to get out of the hot seat.

"He did," she said, "Daddy Merle said I could keep it." Merle stared at his daughter with his mouth dropping open. Then he shut it. He would take the heat for this, since it didn't look like he had much choice anyway, but little miss liar Dixie was going to be hearing about this later. RickyJo let go of Michonne and turned to face Merle.

"Did you say she could keep that tiger?," she asked, getting closer to him. Daryl skirted around his wife and walked over to his daughter. He hugged her as best he could without smashing the tiger cub between them. then he held his arms out for Dixie to hand him the cat, which she did. Now MJ and Dixie were crowding in on either side of him, stroking the tiger cub.

"I thought it would keep the coyotes away from the chickens," Merle insisted, trying to keep a straight face.

"Its a fucking tiger Merle," RickyJo told him, like he didn't know what it was, "it will eat the chickens all by itself."

"I'm sure we can teach it to, you know, not do that," he said. He was watching the rest of his family swoon over the cat and he couldn't help but let a big grin crawl across his face. Daryl had ahold if it now, and letting him have his way was RickyJo's weakness. She would hold her ground with Merle, but she would always give in to Daryl. RickyJo followed his gaze. Daryl was holding the baby tiger now, with MJ and Dixie on either side. They looked so cute together, she was having a hard time holding onto her anger. She felt Merle's arms circle around her waist and he kissed her on the cheek. It crossed her mind in that moment that the orange fur of the tiger was the same color as her son's hair.

"If it pisses in the house," she said, "you are cleaning it up."

"Its Dixie's damn cat," Merle said, "she can clean it up." RickyJo started laughing. She slipped out of his grasp and walked over to where her daughter was looking at her with big hopeful eyes. RickyJo sighed.

"Well let me hold the thing at least," she said. Dixie flew into her mother's arms and her mother held her tight. When she let go, Daryl handed her mother the cat. "If you want to keep him," she told Dixie, "you better come up with a name."

Dixie's mom had offered to let Ezekiel and Michonne stay at their house, but he didn't want to be too far away from his people. So she gave them what was left of the boarding house rooms and made sure they had plenty of room in the camping area to set up. A few more small groups might still show up from communities that were further away, but for the most part, everyone had arrived now that the Kingdom was here. That meant it was time for a party. It would be the first of many to come both before and after the big summer fesitval. RickyJo, Daryl and MJ headed to the bar to start trying to get something together to feed everyone. Jenny, Morgan, and several other people went with them. Dixie headed back to the house with her Daddy Merle and her Aunt so they could get showered up from being on the road.

Dixie dragged an old baby crib mattress out of the basement and took it to her room. She put a blanket on top to make a bed for the baby tiger. She set the tiger on the bed and headed downstairs to find it something to eat. There was some leftover chicken, and few slices of pork lion. She chopped them up and dumped in some goats milk. She took it up to the baby tiger, who was not lying on the bed she made, but stalking up and down the hallway crying for her. She picked it up and took it back into her room, then put the bowl down in front of it. The tiger didn't seem to know what to do. But Miss Kitty smelled a treat. She pranced into the room on her little white kitten feet and started lapping up the milk and chewing the smaller pieces of meat. The tiger cub watched her, then started to do the same. Dixie pet him so he would know he was doing a good job. Once he had licked every drop out of the bowl, the tiger lay down with his fat little belly sticking out. Miss Kitty climbed up near his face and licked the milk from his fur, then settled down into his arms and went to sleep herself.

Her daddy Merle stuck his head into her room. "You going to wash up and come to the bar?," he asked, "or you staying here to mess with that dumb cat all night?"

"Do you think its okay to leave him here alone?," she asked. Merle smiled at her. He liked to think that she was his daughter, but sometimes she reminded him so much of Daryl when he was younger that it made him wonder. It wasn't her looks, those were all RickyJo. It was her facial expressions and the way she talked.

"As long as the doors are shut he ain't going no where," Merle told her. Dixie looked back at the cat, feeling a little guilty for leaving him alone. But he did look very peaceful sleeping there with Miss Kitty. She guessed he probably wouldn't miss her. Especially if she only left for a little while. Dixie jumped up.

"I'm going," she declared.

"Hurry up and get washed up," he said, "we can walk over there together."

Dixie was sitting with Lori, catching up and asking her questions about what life was like in Hilltop. She was sad about Judith getting married, she had wanted her to marry MJ so they could be sisters. But she also loved Judith and wanted her to be happy. And she looked so very happy. The man she was with wasn't very attractive, but he seemed very kind and genuine, which was much more important than looks, in Dixie's opinion. The girls were picking at the rest of the food on their plates and sipping blackberry wine. After half a glass, Dixie decided she better take it easy, the wine was stronger than it tasted. People were talking and laughing. Some of them were dancing to the music that was playing on the jukebox. Dixie knew there were people outside playing games and it looked like a serious card game was starting to shape up in the back corner where it was quieter.

Maria and Sarah had come to sit down with them. There were a lot of strangers around, so Sarah's wolf was sticking close to her, growling softly at anyone that it felt was getting too close. Jenny was up dancing with that blonde man. Dixie had a feeling her cousin might be getting attached to this one. She even introduced him to her parents. MJ was sitting with Hershel in a booth.

"Why don't you ask my sister to dance with you?," MJ asked his friend.

"What do you mean?," Hershel asked, his cheeks feeling hot all of the sudden.

"You been staring at her," MJ said, "Just ask her. She likes to dance." Hershel shook his head. MJ thought he was being stupid. If Hershel didn't ask her, one of these men was going to and then he would lose his chance. "I am going to help you out," MJ told him. Hershel tried to stop him, but he was already stalking over to where the girls were sitting. He watched as MJ held his hand out to his sister and Lori slid out of the booth to let her out. There was a slow song on now, and the two of them made good partners. They had been practicing with each other since they were little. Dancing with her brother reminded Dixie of when she was so little she had to sit on a big book to reach the table. Her mom had taught him how to dance in their kitchen and she remembered how much she loved to watch them.

"I got to take a piss," MJ told her out of no where. Then he shouted right into her ear, "Hey Hershel come over here and dance with my sister for me." He hollered so loud, people were staring at them. Before MJ could embarrass him futher, Hershel walked quickly over and took Dixie into his arms. Daryl was sitting on the bar top next to Rick, watching the kids dance.

"Makes you wish we had arranged marriage here in Alexndria, don't it," Daryl said, elbowing Rick. Rick laughed and clinked his glass against Daryl's. He knew better than most how important it was to marry the right girl. And he knew how his son felt about Daryl's daughter. It would make him happy to see the two of them together.

Dixie smiled at Hershel. He was shorter than her brother and was holding her in his arms with much less confidence. She felt awkward, like he didn't know where to put his hands and was afraid to touch his body to hers.

"You don't have to dance with me if you don't want to," she told him.

"No," he said quickly, "I want to." Maybe it was the way he looked at her when he said it, his big blue eyes the color of the sky, but it made her feel funny inside. She had always thought of Hershel the same as her brother. He was her friend. But her girl friends didn't make her feel weird inside when she hugged them. Finally she felt him relax his body. His hands were resting on her hips, and he moved them, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her closer. She put her arms around his neck, like she had seen her mother do a hundred times to her fathers. Now her cheek was pressed to his and he was taking small steps, turning them around in a little circle. Then the song ended. Dixie backed up. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next.

"Lets go get something to drink," she said. He nodded, grateful that she had said something, since his mind was on nothing but how her breasts felt pressed against his chest. Lori slid into the booth to make room for them. The booths were meant for two, but could fit all three of them since they didn't mind touching. Jenny came over and was leaning against the booth. Sarah filled a cup and handed it to Jenny. MJ came tromping back over. He put his arm around Jenny's waist. She smiled at him, glad he seemed to have decided he wasn't mad at her anymore.

"This just isn't right," MJ said. He gestured to the group of people at the table.

"What?," Jenny asked. Dixie didn't have to ask.

"Its just not right without Glenna here," she said. Sarah watched the look that passed between MJ and his sister. That was the look they got when they were about to get into a heap of trouble.

"Are you thinking what I am thinking," MJ asked his sister. She looked around at the rest of her friends and then back at him. Most of them were grinning now, catching on to what was about to happen.

"Time for a jailbreak," Dixie said.


	16. Chapter 16

Jenny

"Lets do it," Jenny said. Some laughter and calling came from the table of kids in front of her. Andrew walked over with Greg, the man that had eaten breakfast with her and Glenna the other day. He motioned for her to come closer so she slipped away from MJ and slid up next to him.

"Can you do me a favor and introduce Greg to your lady friends?," he whispered into her ear. She nodded. Jenny doubted the man would get anywhere with this group of pathetic virgins, but she didn't mind introducing him around. Poor guy just wanted to get laid. Jenny had her arm around Andrew and she put the other one around Greg's waist, pulling him closer to the table.

"Everyone, this is Andrew's friend Greg, from Seaside," Jenny said, "and this is Dixie, Lori, Maria and Sarah." She didn't bother introducing the guys. He smiled at the girls and gave a little wave. Then he turned to Jenny.

"Wheres that girl from breakfast the other day?," he asked. Jenny laughed. Funny he should ask that, since thats who they were just talking about.

"We were just about to go get her," Jenny said, "you want to come with us?" He nodded. Its not like he had anything better to do, and a small adventure sounded fun.

"Get the wine," MJ told Hershel, who quickly snatched it up from the table before he got up. Sarah slid out of the booth, calling her wolf out from under the table. The man Jenny had introduced to them jumped back and swore. Wolf growled at him.

"Afraid of dogs?," Sarah asked the man. Jenny saw she had a little smirk on her face. She secretly enjoyed it when Wolf scared people.

"No," he said, "I just wasn't ready for a giant one to come out from under that table." Sarah laughed. She took his hand in hers and put it near Wolf's face so she could sniff it. Wolf knew this meant the man was not to be barked and growled at or bitten. Then Sarah did the same with Jenny's friend Andrew. While Wolf only tolerated the first man, she licked Andrew and gave him a little puppy bark. He squatted down to pet the large dog, scratching her behind her ears.

"Had me a german shepard when I was a kid, back before the outbreak," he told Sarah. This made Sarah smile down at the man. He was very attractive and seemed nice too. Jenny scowled at her. _Better keep your paws to yourself wolf girl._ Andrew stood up and put his arm back around Jenny's waist, which made her happy. She gave Sarah another dirty look just in case she didn't see the first one.

"Come on," Dixie told them, lets go out through the kitchen." She set off, her and MJ in the lead and everyone else following behind. Jenny took Andrew's hand as they walked and laughed when he snagged another bottle of wine that was about half full off the bar. When they walked through the kitchen, she saw her parents were in there, along with her Aunt Ricky and her Uncle Merle, Lori's parents and some of the people from Hilltop and the Kingdom. Andrew felt a little guitly. This was obviously some kind of casual leaders meeting. He should really stay and talk with them, instead of goofing around with Jenny. The most important deals and alliances were often made over a drink. Jenny felt Andrew pause in the kitchen and she tugged on his hand. Greg came to her rescue. He wacked at his friend's chest.

"Come on man," he said, "plenty time for meetings another day." Andrew let himself be drug along after that. Greg was right, there would be plenty of time for meetings later. Tonight was a party and he wanted to have some fun. Plus he knew Greg wanted to make some time with these girls and he didn't want to ruin it for him. The small group circled around the front of the bar and headed down the street, passing the wine around and tipping it back straight out of the bottles. MJ stooped down so Maria could ride him piggy back and then he started running at everyone, swinging her legs at them.

"Get on his back and lets have a chicken fight," he told Jenny, pointing to the man she was with.

"I am not chicken fighting you, you dumbass," she informed him. They played that game down at the lake sometimes, but when you got knocked off down there, you fell into the water, not on the pavement. He charged them like an angry goat, making noises like a pig. And Maria was slapping his back and yelling at him.

"You said you were going to give me a ride, not fucking kill me. Let me down MJ!" Lori was lauging so hard, her sides hurt. MJ charged over into Hershel's front yard and tossed Maria into a bush.

"Not in my mom's bushes," Hershel yelled, "come on you guys." He and Dixie went over and fished Maria out, then Hershel started trying to fluff the bush back up, which was hopeless since half the braches were broken. "These are my mom's hibiscus," he said, his voice getting all high and squeaky. Dixie had been trying to help him but now she was laughing.

"Going to have to light a candle for that bush," she said, "cause its dead." Hershel looked at her with his mouth open in shock, then he started laughing. They lit candles every year the night before the festival for all the people they lost over the years. It was very serious and not something people joked about.

Now MJ was trying to get Sarah to climb on his back and she was telling him no way and backing away from him. He tried to make a grab for her and Wolf charged him, grabbing onto his pant leg and shaking it back and forth viciously, ripping the material. Wolf ran away with her prize, which was a small hunk of denim, and shook it back and forth and then dropped it on the ground and barked at it.

"That's it Wolf," MJ called to the dog, "now I'm gonna getcha." He started chasing the dog around, it was stopping to bark at him and then darting out of his reach.

"Stop teasing my dog!," Sarah yelled at him, "MJ, I am serious right now!" Andrew was standing with Jenny, laughing so hard that his eyes were watering up. He was so glad he had not stayed at that meeting. This was the best entertainment he had seen all year.

"Don't give my cousin any more wine," Jenny told him.

"That's your cousin?," Andrew asked her. He would not have guessed that, since Jenny was so dark skinned and the big kid running around was white with bright red hair. Then he remembered her mother had red hair like that. Lots of people in Alexandria were related, it was hard to sort it all out. But Jenny's mother must be the sister or cousin of the woman with the facial scars that ran the bar. And MJ did look a lot like one of her husbands, so he must be her son. It was all starting to make a little more sense to him now. Jenny nodded and pointed to a house on the other side of the street.

"Yeah," she said, "that's our house right there."

"Nice place," he said, "I live on a sailboat." Jenny smiled, she knew where this was going and there was no way she was leaving home to go live on some crappy dinghy no matter how hot he was. "Maybe you could come for a visit sometime," he suggested. Or maybe not, Jenny thought. But the more and more she thought about it, the better it sounded. Maybe she would like getting out of this town and seeing a little more of the world. Dixie and MJ went on trading runs all the time, but Jenny had never been anywhere, not even to Hilltop. "Have you ever seen the ocean?," he asked her. Jenny shook her head and looked up into his eyes. She felt his arms go around her waist as she leaned in close to him. And the next thing Jenny knew they were sprawled out in Hershel's front yard.

"Oh my god MJ," Jenny hollered, "get off me you weigh a ton." She had white shorts on too, which probably had a big green grass smear on the ass now because of him. Dixie ran over and hauled her brother up onto his feet.

"Stop messing around and lets go get Glenna," she told him. Wolf was still watching him with a suspicious look, growling a little down deep in her throat. Sarah snapped her fingers to keep the dog close to her. Andrew got up and gave Jenny a hand. Then he started laughing. All three of them had fallen in a pile of dogshit. Maria looked like she was about to barf, and Sarah was still staring at MJ with her hands on her hips. If she knew she was going to end up on a stroll with two drunk pirates, one of whom kept staring at her breasts, and a ginger lunatic dog torturer, she would have stayed home.

Dixie grabbed the hose from the side of the hose and dragged her brother over to it by the shirt. Then she sprayed his pants off where the dog crap was. Andrew walked over and took off his shirt, handing it to her so she could wash off the back of it. Then he wrung it out and tucked it into his back pocket. Jenny's clothes were alright, but she had crap on the backs of her legs, she Dixie had her turn around so she could get it off.

"Its all off," Dixie told her. Then Dixie turned to everyone else. "Everybody be quiet, lets sneak through the backyards to Glenna's house," she said. There were a few nods so she turned and grabbed her brother by the hand so he wouldn't be tempted to cause anymore trouble. They all walked through the three backyards that separated Hershel's house from Glenna's.

"What should we do now?," Jenny asked. Dixie shrugged.

"That's her window with the light on," Dixie said, "lets throw some stuff at it to get her attention." Jenny nodded and picked up a stick. She hurled it at the window and hit the house about three feet under it. Dixie laughed.

"You fucking do it then," Jenny told her. Dixie retrieved the stick and launched it at the widow, hitting it with a light whack. Everyone was leaning and looking, trying to see if Glenna was going to look outside. No one appeared at the window, so they started throwing more sticks and tiny pebbles at it. It was becoming a bit of a game. MJ found a good sized rock in one of the gardens, it was smooth and round, the kind that his mother would call a skipping stone. He got a feel for it in his hand. Jenny was watching him.

"That ones too big," she said, "dont throw that you will break the window." Jenny could tell he had no intention of listening to her. And just to make sure she knew it, he held his middle finger up for her viewing pleasure. What a fucking idiot. He back up, tossing the rock in the air a few times. Then he set his sights on the window and pulled his arm back to launch the rock. Just as he felt it slide from his hand, he heard the window open. Glenna stuck her head out to see what the noise was and his rock smacked her right in the middle of the forehead. She fell back into her room. Jenny could not help herself, she started laughing. She wasn't sure who looked more surprised when Glenna got hit by the rock, her or MJ. He had a look of absolute horror on his face.

Jenny watched him run over and climb up on top of the covered porch. Then he leaned off the side and stuck his head in Glenna's window. Jenny heard her shriek. Then she leaned out the window, rubbing her forehead. She saw MJ on her roof, and everyone else in her backyard.

"What is going on?," she asked.

"We wanted you to come to the party with us," Dixie called up.

"So you threw a rock at me?," Glenna asked.

"That was an accident," MJ told her, "sorry."

'I can't come out," she said, "my mom locked the house up and shes sleeping in the living room downstairs." After her mom found out about her eating breakfast down at the bar the other day, she had put her on lockdown worse than before. She could do her library work, but her mom had been walking her down there and checking up on her.

"Climb out the window," MJ suggested. Glenna looked at him like he was nuts. He had to know she would break that roof if she stepped even one foot on it.

"Hold on," Hershel said. Then he grabbed Dixie and the two of them took off back towards his house. They appeared a few minutes later with a ladder. MJ jumped down and ran to help them. After fooling with it for a minute they got it locked into place and leaned it up against the house. Deciding he better test it out, MJ climbed up it and poured himself into the open window. Jenny could hear them in there. _This your room? There are a lot of books in here. Are those your underwear. Oh my god MJ get out!_ His feet came through the window first, and once he had them firmly planted on the ladder, he started coaxing Glenna out behind him. Jenny got scared for a minute, when it looked like Glenna's ass might get stuck in the window frame. But MJ grabbed the waist band of her pants and yanked hard, pulling her loose. Jenny let out a sigh of relief. She knew the struggle of having an ample backside, even if the rest of her was smaller. Now they were climbing down the ladder. Glenna was not the most graceful person, and she lost her footing once.

"Do not fall on me Glenna or you will smash me like a bug," MJ told her. Jenny saw Glenna gripping the ladder and trying not to laugh. Once they was almost to the bottom, MJ hopped off to give her some room. She missed the last rung and Andrew's friend Greg caught her before she could fall.

"Thanks," she said, backing up and brushing herself off. Glenna noticed everyone was looking at her expectantly. "What are we going to do now?," she asked.

"We could go back to the party?," Jenny suggested. She knew she wanted to go back to the bar. So she could ditch them and go with Andrew back to his room.

"I got a better idea," MJ announced. He was talking loud and Glenna tried to hush him up before he woke her mom. "Lets go back to my house and drink up all my dad's whiskey!"


	17. Chapter 17

Hershel

The night before was a blur. In fact, he wasn't quite sure how he had ended up at home in his own bed. Regardless, Hershel's head was throbbing. He rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to make himself some willow bark tea. Some pieces of the night were starting to come back to him. MJ going from fun party drunk to emotional cry trainwreck drunk and crying about Judith. A few of the girls had taken him upstairs and put him to bed. Lori told one of those men from seaside that she would kiss him if he could beat her at arm wrestling. Dixie sitting in the rocking chair holding that baby tiger, rocking and kissing it like it was her real baby. At some point he was pretty sure that Jenny showed everyone her breasts.

When he was almost at the bottom of the stairs, Hershel felt had a sudden panic. He shoved his hands into all his pockets, looking for the love letter that he had been carrying around in there the day before. It was his favorite one. And it was gone. He ran back up the stairs, darting around one of his brothers that was coming down for breakfast and shook out his sheets, hoping it had fallen out of his pocket in bed. He saw a folded piece of paper fly out and hit the wall on the opposite side of the bed. Hershel clambered over the bed and snatched it up. It was the letter. Running his fingers over it, he felt the paper that used to be crinkly, but was now worn soft and smooth. Closing his eyes, he felt Dixie's arms around his neck when she was dancing with him in the bar. Shaking his head to clear the images away, he carefully tucked the letter away in one of his dresser drawers. That was the last time he was going to carry the letter around like that.

When he started back down the steps for the second time, he heard loud voices coming from the kitchen. One of them sounded like his Aunt Maggie. There were two Aunt Maggies, one was normal and had once taught him how to grease his fishing lines, and the other was batshit crazy insane. And today, she sounded like she was in full hysterical mode. Hershel rubbed the side of his head, it was too early and he was too hung over to deal with her crap.

"She's been kidnapped," Maggie was screaming, "someone took my daughter and you are not doing a thing about it!" Then Hershel heard his dad.

"She probably snuck out," Rick told her, "if shes not back in a few hours, I will go look for her."

"In a few hours, SHE MIGHT BE DEAD IN A FEW HOURS!" Hershel was debating between going upstairs and holding a pillow over his head until the yelling stopped, and going into the kitchen for his tea and trying to ignore her. Now she was yelling about the ladder. "Glenna didn't put that ladder there, someone else climbed into her room there are muddy footprints by the window." Yeah, Hershel thought, MJ's muddy prints and its not mud its dogshit. Creamy dogshit, he thought with a snicker.

Hershel felt a tap on his shoulder that made him jump. His mom had snuck down the stairs behind him.

"Do you know where Glenna is?," she asked him.

"Probably still at Dixie's house," he admitted, "we helped her sneak out last night." Hershel expected his mother to give him the business, but instead she started laughing. Beth had been telling Maggie that she had to loosen up or Glenna was going to start rebelling. She was a good girl, but there wasn't a teenager on this earth that could swallow down the crap that Maggie dished out. Since his mother seemed to be in such a good mood, Hershel thought it might be best to break the worst news to her now.

"One of your bushes got smashed," he said.

"How?," Beth asked her son. She had a feeling this was going to be a good one.

"MJ threw Maria in it," Hershel said. He remembered that part of the night clearly. Beth tried not to laugh, but the mental image was too much. She couldn't give her son too hard of a time. She and Daryl had lit a house on fire the first time she got drunk. Beth always wavered between thinking MJ was a bad influence on her son and being grateful they were such good friends. MJ could be a little much at times, but he was one tough son of a bitch when it came to fighting. And he looked out for Hershel.

Hershel saw his mother's expression change and she put her hands on her stomach. Then she took his hand and put it on one side. He felt something there, it was like little ripples under her skin. They both smiled.

"God willing there is only one of them in there this time," she said. Hershel laughed. The volume of the screaming coming from the kitchen was starting to rise again. Beth rubbed her itchy stomach and sighed. "I think we better tell your Aunt Maggie where Glenna is before her head explodes." Hershel reluctantly followed his mother into the kitchen. Since his Aunt was going to scream either way, he decided to go ahead and make himself some tea. They had a jar that was marked _pain relief_ , it was a mix of willow bark and some other herbs. He put some water on the stove to boil and got a tea cup and a little metal diffuser they used for single cups of tea.

"Hershel?," his dad asked, "can you just make a pot of that." Hershel nodded and got the teapot out, along with the larger diffuser.

"How can you talk about making tea when Glenna is missing?," Maggie asked them.

"She's not missing," Beth told her sister.

"What do you mean!?," Maggie shrieked, "she's not at home, I can't find her anywhere."

"That's because she snuck out last night to go to the party," Beth said in a very casual tone. "Maybe if she could go out the door like a normal person, she wouldn't have to climb out her window."

"How dare you tell me how to raise my daughter!," Maggie said, her voice rising again, "you know what I have been through."

"Is this what Glen would want for his daughter?," Beth asked. Hershel watched his dad's mouth drop open. No one brought up Glen in front of Maggie. It was the one thing that was sure to make her act even crazier than she already was. She spun on Rick, who was stepping back away from her with a what the hell did I do look on his face.

"Its your fault he got shot," she screamed. Then she stormed out the back door, slamming it shut behind her. Hershel watched his mom cross the room and wrap her arms around his dad. Rick held Beth's head against his chest. It made him angry that she had to deal with that kind of drama from her sister, especially in her condition. They all missed Glen, along with all the other people they had lost over the years. The pain never went away, you just made room for it. But Maggie liked to dwell on it. Glen would have wanted her to be happy, to make a new life for herself and his daughter, to find love again. He would not have wanted this.

"You alright?," Rick asked Beth. She nodded and hugged him tighter. "You know she might be headed for RickyJo's house right now," he mentioned. Beth let go of him and started making breakfast like it was any other normal morning. She set the eggs on the counter and turned to Rick.

"I hope she is going over there," she said, "and I hope RickyJo and Jessica are both home." Rick raised his eyebrows at her. RickyJo was still fucking pissed about Maggie slapping her daughter. If Maggie went over there and made another scene, she might get her face punched in. And Rick knew that Beth was well aware of that.

"Damn Mom," Hershel said, "you are so hard-core." His mom laughed.

"Hard-core?," Beth asked, "where did you hear that?"

"The guys from seaside were saying it," he admitted. The tea kettle was starting to whistle, so Hershel grabbed it and poured the steaming water into the tea pot. Then he set the timer above the stove for ten minutes. Rick watched his son making tea and remembered the talk he had set out to have this morning, before Maggie showed up.

"Hey," Rick said, tapping his son on the arm with the back of his hand. When he was sure he had Hershel's attention, he said, "no more hard liquor, you hear me?" Hershel nodded. He did not really need to be told that, the way he felt when he woke up had been punishment enough.

"Tasted bad anyway," he informed his father. Rick smiled. He thought about informing his son that people didn't drink it for the taste, but then changed his mind.

Hershel took another sip from his travel mug as he headed out of the house. The liquid inside was bitter, but his headache was already almost completely gone. He had his bow slung over his shoulder and a hunting knife strapped to his leg. It always felt like a lot of muscle for the few feet he walked outside the wall to go to the radio booth. But never leaving the walls unarmed was one of the rules in Alexandria that was strictly inforced.

Dixie was out in front of her house with Maria and Sarah. They looked like they were geared up to go hunting. He gave them a wave as he walked by, and they waved back. But Hershel noticed that they stopped talking until he was out of earshot. He didn't mind, but he wondered why they were being so secretive about going hunting. It made a shiver crawl up his back to think about the girls out there. The girls could handle themselves with normal walkers, but what if one of the ones that went after Glenna was out there. It made him sick to think about something happening to anyone he knew. But he would want to die if something happened to Dixie. He wanted to run back and warn them, but he was afraid they might think he was crazy. Maybe Glenna found something in one of her books that would give them a clue to what was going on. He had been meaning to talk to her, but other things had gotten in the way of it.

Hershel climbed the steps and went into the radio booth. He turned of the night playlist and snapped on the microphone. _Good Morning Alexandria. This is Hershel Grimes broadcasting to you from the top of the belltower._ He clicked the microphone back off and turned on some music. He went with something slow and mellow, since he had a feeling he wasn't the only hung over person in town. Then he grabbed his binoculars and turned so he could see what was going on inside the walls.


	18. Chapter 18

Glenna

A door slammed hard somewhere down on the first floor of the house. Glenna opened her eyes and brushed the hair out of her face. She felt something heavy draped across her chest and was startled to find it was someone's arm. Then she remembered where she was. She had come to Dixie's house last night to hang out with everyone. That man from Seaside kept putting his arm around her and talking into her ear. Dixie had pulled her aside. _When you are ready to go to bed, you go up and sleep in my brother's room._ Glenna was not totally sure why Dixie had told her that, but she guessed Dixie had wanted to make sure that man wasn't going to try and go to bed with Glenna. There was the sound of another door slamming. Glenna looked to see if it was going to wake MJ up but he didn't budge an inch.

Unlike her house, where it was always quiet unless her mother was screaming, doors got slammed a lot here. People talked loud, yelled up and down the stairs, and ran inside the house. When she was younger, she had been over playing with Dixie and Jenny. Dixie's mom had been up on a chair trying to get something down from on top of one of the cabinets. One of Dixie's dads had walked by and reached up her dress, making her shriek out in surprise. Glenna had started bawling, sure that the woman must be badly hurt. Dixie had gone and kicked at her dad's shin, her little braided pigtails swinging. _Stop it dad you are scaring Glenna._ He grabbed her, lifting her in the air by her ankles. That had scared Glenna too, until she looked around and realized everyone else was laughing, including Dixie.

For years, Glenna thought Dixie's family was loud and crazy. But as she got older and started to gain a little more perspective, she started to understand that it was the atmosphere in her house that was out of the ordinary, not this one. No one else had five empty rooms in their houses, like she did. Especially now that so many people were visiting from out of town. Sarah's house had the most empty rooms after hers, and that was only because Maria and her parents were gone for the year. Now that they were back, there was only one empty room, and Glenna guessed it was being lended to a boarder.

Wiggling around a little, Glenna tried to loosen up the blankets so she could slip out of MJ's room before he woke up. But she was laying on one side of the blanket and he was sprawled out on top of the blankets, with all his weight on the other side. And she couldn't see all of him but he looked mostly naked. Glenna grasped the blanket and tried to yank at it as she rolled slightly to try and take part of her weight off of it. The angle was so awkward, she pulled at the blanket, but it was going no where. Then it slipped from her grasp and her hand flung up, slapping MJ right in the head. Hard. He grunted and lifted his head up off the pillow. She tried not to laugh.

"Huh," he said. Then he rolled on his back and rubbed at his temples with his fingers. "My fuckin' head is pounding," he grumbled. Then he rubbed at his eyes before he turned and looked at her. "Hey Glenna, what are you doing in here?" The way he said it wasn't accusatory, but it made her feel unwanted just the same.

"Uh... Uh..," Glenna stammered, "Dixie said it was okay if I slept in here."

"Course its okay," he said, rubbing at his face, "just don't remember how you got here." He was trying to remember if something happened between them, but nothing was coming to him. The last thing he remembered was coming back to his house and getting into the liquor. Glenna relaxed.

"You were already alseep when I came in," she told him. He nodded like that explained everything. She wasn't sure what he had been tying to figure out. MJ shot up out of bed and then held his head with his hands and flopped back down hard on his pillow.

"My head," he grumbled again, "I got to get something to eat and some tea." His mom had some special tea she made for hangovers. He wasn't sure what she put in it, but it made you feel better after the first half a mug full. If he was lucky, there might be some downstairs already made. He sat up, more slowly this time. Then he got up and started looking for his clothes. Glenna was relieved to see he at least had undershorts on. She started trying to wiggle out of the blankets again. How did she get so tangled up in them? Finally she grasped the part MJ had been lying on and threw the whole mess off of her and onto the floor. "Damn Glenna," he said, "take your shoes off and stay awhile." She followed his gaze and saw that she had not only gone to sleep with all her clothes on, but her shoes on as well. MJ was laughing. He bet her feet stunk bad after being tied up in her shoes all night. He offered her his hand to help her up.

"Lets go downstairs and get some tea," he said.

MJ's dad was down in the kitchen. He eyed her with some suspicion, but didn't ask what she was doing there. He knew she had not slept in Dixie's room, since he had checked in Dixie the night before. Sarah and Maria had been in there, the three of them snuggled together in bed with the baby tiger, Sarah's big wolf dog and even Miss Kitty. No one had been in Jenny's room, since it had been empty with the door open. So that meant Glenna must have slept in MJ's room.

"Is there tea?," MJ asked. His dad nodded and pointed to the teapot on the counter. Then he pulled a flask out of his back pocket. Merle opened it and waved it in front of his son's face.

"What ya really need is the hair of the dog that bit ya," he informed the boy. One sniff of that whisky and MJ was out the back door, hurling over the railing into the compost bin. Merle was laughing. "Fucking amateur," Merle called after him, "thats whatcha get for drinking up my good whiskey." Stupid kid should have stuck to cider and maybe he wouldn't be feeling so shitty. Merle put the flask away and got another mug down from the cupboard. He poured some tea into it and handed the mug to Glenna. She took it, sniffing at it before she took a small sip. It wasn't bad. The tea tasted mostly of mint but she guessed the mint being used to mask the more bitter ingredients that worked well for pain relief.

MJ came back in from the porch and used some water from the tap to rinse his mouth out. Then he took his tea, standing well away from his father in case he wanted to play the flask trick on him again. Merle looked back and forth between the two kids, trying to figure out if something was going on between them. Now that MJ and Judith seemed to be officially broken up, Merle was hoping his son might wise up and take some interest in Abraham's daughter. He was surprised she hadn't come back from Hilltop married or with a boyfriend. The last girl he expected his son to take an interest with was Glenna. Not only was she the size of a small planet, but her mother was one crazy bitch.

There was a loud pounding on the front door. Glenna noticed both men looked suprised. People didn't usually knock on the door here. They just came around the back and barged in through the kitchen door. MJ poked around the corner and let out a groan. Then he looked at Glenna.

"Its your mom," he told her. Glenna could feel all the blood drain out of her face and she went as white as a ghost. She had snuck out last night. And never went home. She was really going to get it this time.

MJ's dad pointed at both of them. "Stay here," he told them. Then he strode over to his front door and flung it open. Maggie saw him and stepped back. "Expecting someone else sweetheart?," he asked her. She moved to one side like she was going to dart around him into the house so he got right in the doorframe, blocking her path. "Missing something?," he asked her. She scowled up at him.

"I know my daughter is in there," she said. Merle looked her up and down. She had been an attractive woman once. But now her hair was disheveled, her clothes were hanging off her like they didn't fit right. She had really let herself go. Merle knew most people in town felt bad for her, but he didn't. Bad things had happened to all of them. There was no excuse for her behavior. And he was still fucking pissed about her slapping his daughter.

"Fresh out of Asians around here," he told her, "try next door." Glenna and MJ was listening in from where they were hiding in the kitchen.

"What's an Asian?," MJ asked her.

"I don't know," she whispered back.

"Fuck you Merle!," Maggie hollered. Then she charged at him, elbowing past him into the house. He was laughing at her. She was yelling for Glenna, and looking into the rooms of the house. She barged into the ktichen and saw her daughter just standing there staring at her.

"Didn't you hear me calling for you?," she asked her.

"Whole street heard ya," MJ muttered, "you were yelling loud enough." He still had a headache and was not finding Glenna's crazy mom as amusing as he usually did. Plus she was ruining their fun. They had been planning to go down to the bar for breakfast. Maggie ignored him.

"Where were you last night?," she demanded of Glenna. Then she got closer to her. "You smell like booze!" Glenna was so ashamed. And not of herself this time, but of her mother. MJ thought he better come to Glenna's defense. She had only had a few glasses of cider. He was the one that had been drinking liquor.

"She only smells like that because she slept in my bed," he said. That sent Maggie over the edge.

"You slept in his bed," she yelled at Glenna. Then she turned on MJ. "What did you do to my daughter?" He backed up putting his hands in the air.

"Nothing," he said, "we were just sleeping. Damn!" Merle was in the doorway of the kitchen now.

"Are you accusing my son of something?," he asked her. No one was going to accuse any son of RickyJo's of rape. After what happened to her, Maggie didn't have the sense in her head to know RickyJo had taught her son to be respectful towards women. In fact the more he thought about it, the more pissed off he was getting. "YOU HAVE SOME FUCKIN' NERVE TO COME INTO MY HOUSE AND ACCUSE MY SON OF HURTING YOUR DAUGHTER." He turned to Glenna, who looked like she was about to piss herself. "MJ hurt you?," he asked her. Glenna shook her head forcefully.

"No he was on top of the covers, he never even touched me," she said, her voice shaking, "Dixie told me to sleep in there to make sure that guy from Seaside left me alone." Merle turned and stared at Maggie. He wanted to know what that bitch had to say now. She didn't say shit.

"I think its time for you to go," he told her. Then he pointed to the door.

"I am not going anywhere without my daughter," Maggie said. She didn't sound very confident. In fact she knew as soon as the words she said to MJ were out of her mouth that she had crossed the line.

"You will get out or I will throw you out," Merle told her. He had moved across the kitchen and was getting closer to her now. There was no doubt in Maggie's mind that he would be more than happy to physically remove her from his home. Glenna was watching them. She felt rooted to the spot, shocked that someone was finally standing up to her mother. But she knew if MJ's dad touched her mother, she would make a stink so big, it would make what happened in front of the gate look like nothing. Glenna moved quickly. She stepped in between them, forcing MJ's dad to move back with her sheer girth. She handed him her half empty tea cup.

"Thank you for the tea," she said, "I think I better go now." Then she grabbed her mom and hauled ass for the front door. Once they were out in the street, Glenna let go of her mother and started walking home. He mother followed her. For a few moments she was silent. But then she started up again.

"You are never to climb out your window like that again," her mother said to her. Glenna stopped so quickly that her mother bumped right into her. She turned around and stared at the woman, standing up straight and holding her shoulders back instead of hunching down like she usually did. Glenna was angry. Dixie and MJ, Jenny and Sarah, her cousin Hershel and his sister Judith, plus Maria and Lori even though it had been a long time since she had seen them; they were her friends. She never felt fat or ugly when she was with them. They loved her. And it wasn't right for her mother to try and keep her from them just so she didn't have to be alone. In that moment, Maggie was scared of the look she saw in her daughter's eyes.

"You are right mom," Glenna said, "next time I am going to use the door."


	19. Chapter 19

Sarah

Once she told Dixie and Maria about the strange man she saw in the woods, Sarah felt the weight lift off her shoulders. She felt the same way she did when she came back from a long hunting trip and finally got inside her house and dropped her heavy bag by the door. The girls did not laugh at her or call her crazy. And Sarah could tell they believed every word of her story by the way their eyes had gotten wider and Dixie's grip on her hand got tighter as she spoke. When she was done, Dixie took a deep breath and told them about the walker that threw the snake at her. Sarah had felt her hand shaking when she talked. And that had scared Sarah more than the story. Dixie didn't get scared. Not even when she should. If what she saw made her shake like that, Sarah knew it was bad.

The girls piled into bed together and slept. For the first time since Sarah saw that man in the woods, she got a good nights rest. It might have been the body heat from the girls on either side of her, but Sarah thought it was something else. She had felt it the moment that Glenna stepped down from that ladder and they were all together again. _Everyone is here now._ A strange feeling had started down in her toes and worked its way up her spine, making her scalp and the tips of her fingers tingle. It was the feeling the whole town got when they saw the seven of them up on that platform holding hands at the festival every year. As long as they stood together, there was nothing they couldn't face.

"It had to be what happened to Little Lake," Maria said, shifting her crossbow so it sat more comfortably across her shoulders. "That kid we found hiding said the walkers were coming at them in a planned attack and carrying weapons." Dixie elbowed her to make her stop.

"Here comes Hershel," she said. They all stopped talking. He gave them a little wave as he passed and the girls waved back. Sarah saw him turn around once and then he kept going. Once he was far enough away that he couldn't hear them, Maria spoke up again.

"The walkers we found there were almost all people that used to live there," she said, "where was the herd that attacked them." Dixie's eyes got wide.

"That's right," Dixie said, "if they got overrun by a herd that big, there should have been so many more of them hanging around. I knew something was off, but I just couldn't figure out what."

"You think one man could control that many of them," Sarah asked. She was thinking maybe there was a whole group of people that could make the walkers do what they wanted. And that was almost too scary to consider.

"I don't know," Dixie said, fingering her large buck knife, "we when find that creep you can ask him."

"Maybe we should tell our dads?," Maria suggested. Now that they were actually going out to track this man, Maria was getting scared. Really scared.

"They are never going to believe us," Sarah said. Maria looked at her. She thought maybe they could get someone to believe them if they all went together.

"If I hadn't seen it," Dixie said, "I'm not sure if I would believe it." Maria nodded. Dixie had a point. Maria's dad had been laughing and saying that kid they picked up from Little Lake was a nut. He said the boy must have either got so scared he was seeing things, or he was embarrassed about hiding and he was making the shit up.

"Let's go," Dixie said. The other girls nodded. Sarah had her dog with them, and Wolf was a good tracker. If they went back to the spot where she had seen the man, they might be able to pick up his trail. They headed down the street towards the front gate. Dixie's mom was out in front of the bar, talking to someone and she waved to them.

"You girls going hunting?," she asked. Dixie nodded. "You want to come in and get some breakfast first?" They all shook their heads and Dixie told her no. Between the drinking the night before and how keyed up she was for the hunt, Sarah didn't think she could keep anything down anyway. She guessed Maria and Dixie felt about the same. RickyJo watched the girls. Something strange was going on with them. Usually they were all excited to go out hunting, but today they looked tense and maybe even a little scared. "You alright honey?," she asked her daughter.

"I'm fine," Dixie insisted. But her mom walked over anyway. Dixie's mom had a way of looking at you that always made Sarah feel like the woman could see right into her brain.

"There are a lot of people around here we don't know," RickyJo said, "and more might be coming from out of town. Why don't you girls take guns if you are going out?"

"Its okay?," Dixie asked. Her mom nodded.

"Get them out of the gun safe in the bar," she said, "and don't be horsing around and firing them off if you don't need to." Dixie nodded. Then the girls dashed off around to the back door with the dog chasing after them. RickyJo watched them go, still feeling a little uneasy. She felt Daryl's hand on her back.

"What's wrong?," he asked her. She smiled. How did he know something was wrong?

"Nothing really," she said, "Dixie is going out hunting with Maria and Sarah. I just worry about her."

"You want me to go with them?," Daryl asked her. She put her arm around his waist and leaned in to kiss him softly on the lips.

"No," she said, "let them be. They can take care of each other."

"They taking Wolf with 'em?," Daryl asked. He always felt better when the girls took that big dog with them. Dogs could hear things people couldn't. And if anyone tried to mess with Sarah, Wolf would take their fucking heads off. RickyJo nodded. "They'll be alright then," he said, "they ought to go boar hunting. Have us a pig roast." RickyJo laughed.

"Do you think about anything besides food?," she asked him. He pulled her close and gave her a lingering kiss that let her know he was definitely thinking about something besides food. A few of the guys in front of the bar started whistling at them. He let her go and they both headed back inside the bar.

The girls headed down a familiar game trail. Sarah was in the lead, since she was the one that knew where they were going. She reset her traps as she went, since she had not done it on the way back the day she had seen that man, and she had been too afraid to come out here since then. Her step-father had been working on that solar electric car again, so she used the excuse that she was helping him, even though all she really did was sit on a stool and hand him things. If he could get it going, he promised he would teach her how to drive.

Wolf ran ahead, sniffing the ground and then circling around them, coming up behind Dixie and darting in and out of bushes. They had not seen anything yet, but the girls were on high alert. Maria had her bow on her back, and she was carrying the rifle she had picked up from the bar. There was an extra clip for it in the side pocket of her cargo pants. On top she was wearing a black tank, with her father's army tags hanging around her neck on a silver chain. The person that had cut her hair for her at hilltop had made a real mess of it, so Jessica had cut it short for her as soon as she got home. It fell just to her chin and she could tuck it behind her ears and not have to worry about messing with it. The arm band that marked her as a doctor was around her left upper arm, and she had her emergency medical bag hanging over one shoulder. It swung and bounced against her hip as she walked. Sarah stopped and turned back to look at her.

"You should stash that bag somewhere," she said, "All I can hear is crap rattling around in it." Maria nodded and handed her the med bag, which she stuffed up in a tree. They were still on the game trail, so they could just pick it up on the way back. Maria adjusted her gun and bow, feeling lighter, but a little naked without her medical bag. The girls kept walking, taking it slow and keeping an eye on their surroundings. Wolf came up and stopped in front of Sarah, growling at something the girls couldn't see. They had their weapons pointed, waiting for some strange zombie killer to jump out and any moment. Instead there was a rustle in the bushes ahead and a large skunk came scurrying out of the leaves. Before Sarah could grab Wolf the stupid dog was barking its head off. This spooked the skunk. It lifted up its tail and let out a stream of the most terrible smelling foul liquid they had ever smelled. Wolf got hit the worst, since she was out in front, but the girls got splashed as well.

"Oh fuck no!," Dixie declared, "nobody pisses on me and gets away with it!" She grabbed the hankercheif out of her back pocket and tied it around her face like some kind of old world bandit. Then she notched an arrow in her bow and charged after the animal. Sarah started laughing, gagging a little at the same time from the terrible stench. Wolf was whining and crying and trying to rub her face in the dirt and leaves.

"Just let it go Dixie," she said, "its just going to spray you again if you go after it." Dixie ignored her friend's sound advice and stomped into the bushes. She spotted the stupid animal and aimed for it. The twang of her bow drew its attention to her and just before the arrow hit it, the thing skunked her again. Sarah watched Dixie jump back out of the bush, coughing and squealing. Maria hated a lot of things, but above all she hated being dirty. The smell of Dixie when she jumped back out of the bush was overwhelming. She darted away and puked behind a tree.

"Fucking thing got me!," Dixie was hollering.

"I told you to let it go," Sarah said. Here they were trying to track a psycho walker trainer and Dixie wanted to go chasing after a skunk. She watched as Dixie went back into the bushes. Bracing her foot on the skunk, she yanked her arrow out and then picked the thing up by the tip of its tail. Wolf was running around her in circles, barking at the fearsome beast.

"That's right," Dixie told the skunk, "I might stink but you are dead asshole!"

"On my god Dixie," Maria yelled from over by her vomit tree, "get rid of that it stinks worse than you do." Sarah shook her head. Dixie said a few more choice words to the dead skunk and then swung her arm, tossing it as far as she could away from her into the woods. It landed with a soft thump and a crumple of leaves, the noise attracting a walker that happened to be wandering by. Wolf barked at it, and the thing turned towards them, moaning and reaching out for them.

"Is that one of the ones we are looking for?," Sarah asked. Dixie shrugged. It looked like a regular old walker to her. She notched the skunky arrow back in her bow and aimed it at the walker. Sarah also notched an arrow and aimed for it. But the girls waited to shoot. They both wanted to see if the thing was going to start acting strange. The only thing it did was turn around and go the other way once it got close enough to smell the skunk musk. Sarah let her arrow go, piercing it through the head and dropping it instantly. She walked over and pulled her arrow out. Dixie and Maria were behind her, and together they flipped the thing over to get a look at it.

"Did the one that threw the snake at you have a splash of blood across its chest?," Sarah asked.

"I don't know," Dixie told her. Walkers often had blood and shit and gunk all over them. If that one had a certain splash of anything on it she had not noticed it at the time. "Why?," she asked.

"When I saw that man," Sarah said, "he ripped up a baby bunny and splashed the blood on the walkers. This one doesn't have any blood on it." Maria bent down and poked at the walker. It looked pretty old and crusty. When they got past this point, they often just fell apart. Most of its teeth were gone.

"Maybe he didn't want this one," she said.

"Because its so old and dry?," Sarah asked. Maria nodded. Even if someone could control this walker, it would crumble to pieces before they could scare anyone with it. The girls looked at each other, Maria still holding her hand over her mouth because of the smell. Without a word they stood up and started back down the trail in the direction they had been going before they saw the skunk.


	20. Chapter 20

Maria

They all smelled like skunk, but Dixie smelled the worst. So they made her walk behind them. Sarah took point and Maria stayed in the middle, between the other two girls. She watched Sarah as she walked silently through the woods. She knew the girl was not aware of it, but it always amazed Maria how much Sarah's body language changed as soon as they got outside the town walls. Maria was a doctor now, but she knew Sarah was still looking to find her place within the community. And Maria had a feeling she would eventually find it as one of the recruiters or in the group that went out over the road on trading missions. Those groups were mostly men, since the women tended to stay close to home once they married and started raising children. But having a woman go on a trading mission was not unheard of. And no one would ever think of telling Sarah that she couldn't do it because she was a girl.

Girls in Alexandria were brought up to believe that they could do anything a man could do. Up until recently, their town had been run by a woman. And the girls were taught to hunt and shoot and fish and fight right along with the boys. Maria's mother had made sure both Maria and Sarah knew how to defend themselves. And Sarah's mother made sure they knew why they were learning to fight. Some men had hurt Sarah's mother. And that's how she had gotten pregnant with Sarah. Everyone knew it. And Maria knew it was hard on her friend. it was like people in the town were always watching Sarah, waiting for her to do something wrong. Out here in the woods, there was no one watching. And it showed in the way Sarah walked.

Her shoulders were back, the tank top she wore was floating out behind her back. Sarah always had the best clothes, because her mother could sew. Today she was wearing a pair of soft black pants that hugged her body without being too tight. She had a ribbed tank top on that came down low on her hips, and another looser fitting one that flared out from her body. She was wearing tall boots and a holster strapped to one of her thighs. Her long black hair was pinned up in a braided bun on top of her head to keep it out of her way, but a few strands of it had come loose and were hanging down around her face.

"There it is," Sarah said. She stopped and waited for Maria and Dixie to catch up with her. Dixie kicked at the walker with the toe of her cowboy boot. They knew it was the walker Sarah told them about. One of her arrows was still sticking out of its head. Sarah braced her foot on its head and took the arrow back

"It does have a splash of blood on it," Maria said. There was a splash of what looked like dried blood across the thing's chest. Sarah nodded and headed over to the clearing where she had seen the man in the mask. Maria saw her and Dixie had their bows ready, and she was grateful the other girls were with her and she wasn't out here by herself. She followed behind them to the clearing. There was really nothing there. A few footprints and some scuff marks in the dirt. Wolf was sniffing at the bushes and the grass, growling from time to time.

"Do you think Wolf can track him from here?," Dixie asked.

"I'm not sure," Sarah admitted, "it rained since then." Dixie was poking around at the clearing, trying to figure out which way the man went. There was a trampled trail where the walker had gone after Sarah, but there should be another trail from where the man came in and out of the clearing. Finally she spotted some lightly trampled grass. Beyond that, there was a smear of blood on the leaves of a bush.

"Here!," Dixie called to the other girls, "He went out this way." Sarah hurried over with her dog. She showed Wolf the blood and the trail and signalled for the dog to track the man.

"Find 'im Wolf," Sarah said, pointing towards the direction Dixie thought the man went. Wolf sniffed at the area and then sat back and howled loudly. Then she was on the trail with her nose to the ground. The girls followed her, bows and guns drawn, staying as close to the dog as they could. Maria forgot about the skunk and how bad they all smelled. Her heart was beating hard in her chest and she could feel the adrenaline coursing through her. She was excited they found a trail, but also afraid of what might be waiting at the end of it. They had all killed walkers, and practiced fighting with each other. But none of them had ever killed a living person. And Maria had never been attacked by someone that was actually trying to hurt her.

They walked a long way, further and deeper into the woods than Maria had ever gone before. She went out on hunting trips sometimes, but someone's parent had always been there to tell them where to go and what to do. They were so far away from town, that no one would hear them if they got into trouble. And they had not told anyone where they were going. Dixie stopped, pointing at a smear of blood on a tree.

"We are going the right way," she said. Maria wiped her hands off on her pants and got a firm grip on her gun. The girls continued deeper into the woods. They were on a well trampled trail now, one that was so obvious they might be able to follow it without Wolf leading them. There was a clearing up ahead, so Sarah called her dog back and slowed them all down.

"Everyone quiet," she warned them. Dixie and Maria nodded and then followed her out of the woods. Once they were out of the trees and bushes, they saw a large shallow pond. It had a lot of green fuzzy algae growing around the edges. The water had an unfresh odor to it, and Maria knew they would find no fish or other animals living here. This was what her mother called stagnant water, and she had taught Maria never to drink from a water source that looked like this. And Maria knew it was best to stay away from water like this altogether. Mosquitos bred in dirty water like this, and if you got bit by one, it could give you a terrible sickness that came with a high fever and a rash.

"The trail leads here?," Dixie asked, "where the fuck did he go? Into the water?" Sarah shrugged.

"Lets search around a little," Dixie suggested. Sarah nodded. Maria would have rather turned around and gone home, but she didn't want to seem like a big scare baby. Dixie and Sarah didn't look scared. Maria sighed and followed the girls down along the edge of the water. There was a large bush and something about it drew Maria's attention. It looked like mostly dead branches. And it was growing up out of the stagnant water.

She grabbed ahold of the bush and yanked. It pulled away easily, revealing a large round concrete pipe leading into the ground of the hill behind it. A walker lurched at them out of the tunnel, hissing and chomping, grabbing for them. Dixie put an arrow in it's head, followed closely by another one from Sarah. Then they pulled their arrows out and crouched down to look at the monster. There was a large splash of blood across the front of it, just like Sarah said. This was one of the man's creatures, for sure. The girls grabbed it by the legs and dragged it into a bush. Then Sarah pointed into the tunnel.

"That's were he went," Sarah said. There were tons of footprints inside the pipe, and smears of walker gunk everywhere.

"What is this thing?," Dixie asked.

"I think its a drainage pipe," Sarah told her, "Eugene showed me a smaller one once. He said they were an old world way of getting rid of people's waste. He said never go in one, or you might get lost in there." Sarah rubbed at her arms despite the heat of the day. Just thinking about getting lost down in the ground inside a maze of tiny concrete tunnnels made her chest feel tight. Wolf got done gowling at the dead walker and came over to sniff at the concrete tube. Then she growled, baring her teeth and making the hair on her back stand up. Sarah pet the dog to calm her down. Then she watched in horror as Dixie jumped to grab the top lip of the drainage pipe and swung herself up inside. It was wide enough that she could stand up fully, but someone as tall as MJ would have to duck down a little. Seeing Dixie inside the pipe filled Maria with panic.

"Get out of there right now Dixie," Maria ordered.

"But that man is hiding in there," Dixie insisted, "I want to find him." Maria couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was no force in this world that was ever going to make her go down inside that pipe. And from the pale look on Sarah's face, she guessed her friend felt the same way.

"Might be more than him hiding in there," Sarah said, "might be a whole herd of his pet walkers." Dixie ignored them and walked a few more steps into the tunnel. She wished she had a flashlight. Then she disappeared from view.

"God damn it," Sarah swore. Then she swung up into the pipe after Dixie. "Stay here," she told Maria. Then she took a deep breath and headed in to the tunnel. Maria heard some swearing and cursing and then Sarah reappeared holding onto Dixie's arm and dragging her back out and down onto the ground. Once they were back in the sunshine, Sarah let her go.

"I can find him now and end this," Dixie insisted.

"Or get yourself killed trying," Sarah hissed back at her, "look at all those tracks. There might be a hundred walkers down there." Dixie looked at the tracks and then nodded. Maybe charging into a dark tunnel alone with no flashlight was not her best idea.

"What are we going to do then?," Dixie asked.

"We know he's living in there," Maria said, getting the attention of the other two girls. Dixie nodded for her to keep going. "We can come back and hide. Wait for him to come out, then shoot him." Sarah nodded her approval.

"Maybe we could even make some noise," Sarah said, "to draw him out."

"That's a good idea," Dixie told her, "we have those fireworks, for the celebration. We could light some and throw them down there." Maria wasn't so sure about that, but at least Dixie wasn't trying to climb back up in the pipe again.

"For now we better do some hunting," Maria said, "or we are going to have a lot of questions to answer about what we were doing out here all day." Dixie nodded and grabbed the dead bushes. Sarah helped her arrange them so they lay where they had found them. Then the girls turned and headed back the way they came.


	21. Chapter 21

LoriAnn

She was walking down a long dark tunnel. The walls curved around her in a circle. On the ground, there was a trail of smelly water with bits of walker gunk floating in it. She had to step over a severed hand that looked so old it was almost mummified. There was a strange echoing chant coming from somewhere deep inside. She didn't want to follow the sound, but it was like her body was moving towards the noise of its own volition, carrying her mind along for the ride. The smell of death was all around her, and it was getting stronger the further she walked.

There was a dim light at the end of the tunnel, and it was getting brighter. Then suddenly, she was on the floor in a dimly lit room. There were walkers chained to the walls around her. Naked women walkers that she had the sick feeling had been live people when they were brought down here. She felt sick when she saw the walkers were all her friends and family. Judith, Maria, her mother, Sarah, Dixie and so many others. And the floor was not solid, but moving beneath her. She turned to try and push herself up into a standing position and saw that the floor was covered in a carpet of snakes. Then she was screaming and she felt someone grabbing her.

"Its a dream, its just a dream, wake up," Greg took hold of the girl, shaking her gently. She was really screaming and he didn't want anyone to hear the noise and think he was hurting her. Lori's eyes flew open and she was disoriented for a moment. She didn't remember where she was. There was a loud knock on the door and the man in bed beside her jumped up and answered it.

"What the hell is going on in here," Michonne demanded of the man. She had heard a girl screaming so loud it had woken her up from a dead sleep. She didn't know how the men from Seaside did things, but around here, forcing yourself on a woman was not acceptable.

"Nothing," the man insisted, "she was just having a nightmare." Michonne pushed past him into the room and he jumped back when he saw the large tiger in the hall behind her.

"You alright?," Michonne asked Lori, taking her hand and smoothing her hair down out of her face.

"I think so," Lori told her, "I was having a bad nightmare. Like he said." Her voice was shaky. But Michonne understood about nightmares. She still had them about her son, all these years later.

"That man didn't hurt you?," Michonne asked her, pointing to the man that was now standing in the corner of the room, trying to stay as far away from Shiva as he could. Lori shook her head. She wasn't sure how she ended up in bed with the man, but he had not been hurting her. And she still had her pants on, so she guessed he hadn't done anything else to her either. Michonne turned to the man.

"Sorry for barging in here like that," she said. He nodded.

"It's okay," he said, "could you please get that big cat out of here now?" Michonne laughed soflty and headed back to her room, signaling for the tiger to come with her. She wondered if the man had any idea who's daughter he had in his bed. She figured he would find out eventually. Greg shut the door behind her and got Lori some water from on top of the dresser.

"I can get you some cold water from the bar if you need me to," he offered, handing her the water. She sipped it slowly.

"No, I'm okay," she said, "but thank you." Lori looked around the room. She guessed she must be in one of the boarding house rooms. Her pants and bra were still on, but the shirt she was wearing was not hers. She remembered the man, his name was Greg and he was friends with the man Jenny was seeing from Seaside. He was naked from the waist up, but he also had his pants on.

"Did we... uh," she started, "did anything happen between us?" Greg smiled.

"No," he told her. Having sex with passed out drunk young girls wasn't really his thing. Then he smiled. "Well, we kissed," he admitted, "and you spilled whiskey all over your shirt so I put mine on you and washed yours out. I also took your knives off and put them on the dresser." Then he pointed to her shirt, which was hanging on a hanger off one of the knobs on the dresser. "I promise I didn't look when your shirt was off." Lori smiled back at him. "Well, I might have taken a peek," he said. He held his fingers up to show a tiny space between the thumb and pointer finger. "Just a small one." She laughed.

Some of the night was coming back to her now, in little peices. Jenny and her walking back here with the guys. Sitting by the fire and listening to someone play guitar and sing. Drinking more whiskey. And cider. She remembered kissing this man, and him carrying her down a hallway and tucking her into bed. It really was kind of sweet that he had washed her shirt out for her. He walked over and moved the curtains to take a peek outside.

"Do you mind if I come back to bed with you?," he asked, "Its not even light out yet." Lori smiled again. He was even asking her if it was alright before he got back into his own bed.

"Of course its alright," she said, "Its your bed." She moved over a little to make room for him. "Thank you for washing my shirt," she told him. She felt a little blush rise up into her cheeks, making them feel hot. He got back into bed and pulled lay down with his head resting on his elbow, staring over at her with the corners of his lips turned up. Greg had been pretty drunk the night before, and he was glad he had not woken up in bed next to some kind of troll. This girl had a bit of a tomboy vibe, but he didn't mind that. She was strong looking, with brown eyes and wavy hair that was rumpled up around her head. She was tall, and he guessed from the way she was blushing that she might be younger than she looked. And maybe a virgin. Lori set her water glass down on the little table next to the bed and then looked around, feeling awkward and unsure of what to do next.

"Here," Greg told her, patting the bed next to him. Then he pulled her close so she could rest her head on his chest. "That alright for you?," he asked her. She nodded. He stroked her hair and then moved his hand down and started rubbbing her back.

"So what do you do around here?," he asked her.

"I just got done training for a year in Hilltop," she said, "I am going to be Alexandria's new blacksmith." He smiled. That explained why her arms were bigger than his. It also blew any hopes he had of bringing her back to Seaside with him. They didn't exactly have blacksmith facilities out on their sailboats.

"That's solid," he told her. He had heard things about the women from this town, but he had to say that they had exceeded all of his expectations. They were strong and brave and hard-working. And most of the ones he had seen were attractive. There were a lot of them too. Before they got here, he had guessed that had been an exaggeration. There were not many women left anywhere. This was the only place he had visited since the outbreak where the women outnumbered the men.

He felt Lori relax against him, and she snuggled in, looking for a more comfortable spot. Greg kept rubbing her back in small circles, moving his hand down to reach up under the shirt she had on and rub the soft skin on the side of her hip and her lower back. He would have liked to try and fool around with her a little, now that she wasn't plastered. But after a few minutes of rubbing her back, Greg felt her breathing go slow and even. He leaned in to kiss her forehead and then he held her close, letting himself enjoy her feminine scent and the smell of her hair. Soon he was sleeping right along with her, dreaming of the pretty girlfriend he had all those years ago in high school. Only this time he didn't lose her in the outbreak. She made it to Seaside with him instead, and he could see her there on the boat, the salty air whipping her hair around as she yanked a fish up out of the water. When she turned to smile at him, she had Lori's face.


	22. Chapter 22

Dixie

This had to be the most humiliating experience of her life. Dixie was in her underwear, standing in a tiny plastic baby pool, with her arms crossed over her breasts while her dad and her brother rubbed crushed up tomatoes into her hair. They both had rags tied over their mouths and noses, to try and keep from smelling her.

"Use some more tomatoes," MJ insisted, "she still reeks like a skunk."

"What in the hell were ya thinking?," Daryl asked his daughter for what seemed to her like it must be about the one thousandth time.

"I was thinking I was pissed at that skunk for spraying Sarah's dog," she said, "Ooouch, you are pulling my hair." MJ started laughing again. His sister could be a real dummy sometimes. Even he would not have been stupid enough to go after an angry skunk. The back door swung open and Jessica came down with a large bucket half full of liquid.

"I told you guys the tomatoes were not going to work," she said, "now she just smells like italian skunk." MJ laughed harder.

"Do you think we will have to shave her head?," he asked hopefully.

"No one is shaving my head!," Dixie cried out, "I would rather stink than be bald." Her voice was getting high and whiny and she felt like she might cry if anyone else mentioned cutting off her hair. Jessica shoved the bucket at Daryl and grabbed the hose to rinse off the tomato mess the boys made. Then she told Dixie to close her eyes tight. She dumped half the contents of the bucket over Dixie's hair and massaged the mixture in.

"What is that?," Daryl asked. Whatever it was, it was working. He pulled the rag down off his face. Dixie didn't smell half as bad now.

"Peroxide, baking soda and detergent," Jessica said, "I had to beg the peroxide off of Rosita from the medical supplies. We owe her a chicken." Daryl nodded. He would be willing to pay a lot more than one chicken if it meant not having his whole house reek like skunk musk for a week. "Let it sit for a few minutes and then I will rinse it off," Jessica told her neice. She poured the rest of the solution on Dixie's clothes that were floating around in the bottom of the baby pool, scrubbing them with the soapy water. MJ danced around his sister, poking and pinching at her. He knew she couldn't fight back, since she was using her hands to cover her titties up.

"Daaad!," Dixie hollered, her voice getting so high pitched now that it made Daryl wince, "Make him stooop!"

"MJ!," Daryl yelled, "knock that shit off." MJ stopped and crossed his arms, making a sulky face like Daryl had just ruined all his fun. "Why don't you go down to the bar and help your mom with that big pig the girls brought in?," Daryl suggested. MJ's face lit up and then he took off like someone lit a fire under his ass, tripping over the edge of one of the gardens and almost falling as he ran around the side of the house. Daryl shook his head, watching the kid go.

MJ could be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but he was a good kid. Daryl liked to think he was what Merle would have been if they had a good mother like RickyJo and a father that didn't get drunk and beat the shit out of him. MJ got into a little trouble now and then, but nothing too serious. It was really fucked up to think that Daryl and his brother had grown up in the old world, with all the conveniences and modern technology, and things had been so terrible. But here, in the new world where dead people walked around ready to eat you, MJ and Dixie were getting the kind of childhood he never had. Even back at the prison, RickyJo had kept MJ close and given him all the love and attention he needed.

"Time to rinse," Jessica said. Then she got the hose and held it over Dixie's head, rubbing at her hair to get all the soap out. When she was done she had Daryl go turn the hose off. "Now go put your clothes in the washer on hot and then take a good shower and scrub up," Jessica told Dixie. The girl nodded and picked up her things before heading into the house. Jessica got Dixie's boots and washed them up in the sudsy water that was left in the plastic pool. Then she set them on the back steps to let the sun dry them. She turned back and saw Daryl was standing there with a funny look on his face.

"Whatcha thinking?," she asked him, walking over and putting one arm around his waist. He slung his arm around her shoulders.

"Thinkin' its a good day when the worst thing that happens is someone gets sprayed by a skunk," he said.

Dixie scrubbed herself under the hot water until her hair was squeaky clean and her skin was pink. When she got out of the shower, the baby tiger was sitting in the hall outside the bathroom door, staring up at her with Miss Kitty next to him. They followed her down to her bedroom. She wrapped a towel around her head and another one around her body and started poking through her dresser for something to wear. There wasn't much in there, so she headed down to her mom's room, thinking that she really ought to try and trade something to Sarah's mom for some new clothes after she was done making all the stuff for the fesitval. Then she heard someone knocking on the front door.

The noise startled her for a second. People usually just barged in through the kitchen. If someone was knocking, it might be important. Forgetting that she was only wearing a towel, Dixie dashed down the stairs with the cats chasing after her and flung the front door open. Hershel was standing on her front porch, his mouth hanging open after getting a look at her. She was wrapped up in an old towel that was barely wide enough to cover her. Her skin was pink she still looked damp from her shower.

"What are ya banging on my door for?," Dixie asked him. He was sure he had a reason why he was on her front porch, but nothing was coming to mind.

"Uh... Uh," Hershel stammered. Dixie noticed he was holding something in his hands.

"What ya got there?," she asked him. Hershel looked down at his hands. Now he remembered why he had come over.

"My uh," he said, "my mom said to give you this." He handed her a small glass bottle. She took it, turning it over in her hands.

"What is it?," she asked.

"Perfume," he told her. She looked at him questioningly. "Open it up and smell it," he told her. She opened up the bottle carefully, like it was a bomb about to explode. Then she took an experimental sniff. She jerked her head back. It smelled strong. She tried again, not getting her nose too close to the bottle this time. Now it wasn't so bad. In fact it smelled kind of good, like citrus and flowers and wood chips. "My mom wears it when she wants to smell good for my dad," he explained, "she said to give it to you. Because of the skunk."

"Oh," Dixie said. She smiled at him. It was a nice gift. Jenny got a lot of gifts, but she never got any. Not from boys anyway. "Thanks," she said.

"She said to tell you to only use a little," Hershel added, trying to remember if his mom said anything else.

"How do I use it?," she asked. Hershel thought about it. He had seen his mom putting it on before. He reached for the bottle. Then he put his finger on the cap like he had seen his mom do.

"My mom puts some on her finger," he said, "and then she puts it here." He rubbed behind his ears. "And here," he said, rubbing the middle of his chest. Dixie laughed and took the bottle back.

"You want to come in for a minute?," she asked. "I got to get dressed and then we can walk down to the bar together," she suggested. Hershel nodded and came into the house. He was planning to go back to the radio booth after he dropped off the perfume that he had begged his mother to give him. But that could wait. "I will be right back," Dixie told him. Then she turned and ran up the stairs, the edge of her towel flapping and giving him a good view of her backside. Do not get a fucking stiffy, he told himself, do not do not do not.

While Hershel was downstairs thinking about dirty walkers and his cousin Glenna's crazy mother, Dixie went back into her mother's closet to try and find something to wear. She found an old flowy skirt that had a pretty pattern to it. She went back into her own room and pulled on some undergarments, then pulled the skirt on with a long white tank top. Since she wasn't going hunting, she put on the gold necklace her mother had given her for her birthday. Then she combed out her hair and picked up the bottle of perfume.

She unscrewed the cap and placed her finger over the opening, turning the bottle upside down so a little drop got on her finger. Then she rubbed it behind her ears. Dixie took another drop and put it between her breasts, thinking about what a funny place it was to put the stuff. No one would be smelling her there. She rubbed one more drop through her hair and put the cap back on. Then she set it up high up on one of her shelves to be sure it wouldn't get broken. The perfume was in a round glass bottle with the words Chanel Chance on the front. The liquid inside was a pale pink. It made her feel girly and very old world glamorous to be wearing it, and she looked at herself in the mirror. She turned to the side, sucking in her stomach and sticking her breasts out. Then she laughed and stuck her tounge out at herself. Prancing around in front of the mirror was Jenny's thing, not hers.

Strapping on her ankle holster, Dixie slid one of her knives into it for safekeeping and took off back downstairs. Hershel was sitting on the floor, petting her tiger cub. Miss Kitty was circling him, rubbing her sides and face on him and purring. When she saw Dixie, she staked over to the door and started howling. Dixie opened the door for her.

"Go out then you dumb cat," she said.

"Why does she howl like that?," Hershel asked.

"My dad says it because she's in heat," Dixie said. It took Hershel a minute to figure out what that meant, and then he started laughing. Too bad girls were not that easy to figure out. He gave the tiger another pet and stood up.

"Can you smell me?," Dixie asked. He raised his eyebrows at her. "The perfume," she said, "I put some on."

"Not from here," he said. She took a few steps closer. He shook his head, he still couldn't smell anything. She closed the distance between them so she was almost in his arms.

"How about now?," she asked. He closed his eyes and leaned close to her, putting his hands on her waist. Hershel wasn't sure what he was supposed to be sniffing for, but she sure smelled good. If he had to describe the smell of Dixie he would have said that she smelled like sunshine. But there was another smell there, it was like a combination of orange peels and flowers. That must be the perfume. He pulled his head back and looked down into her upturned face. He was only a few inches taller than her so her lips were close to his.

"I think I can smell it now," he said. Her hands were on his arms and the skin on her waist felt hot and tingly where he was touching her. His voice sounded deep and husky, like the one he used when he talked over the radio. His eyes were big and blue, and while they usually made her think of a clear sky, right now they made her think of water. Clear blue water that was deep enough to drown in. Then her tiger cub rammed it's head into her, bumping the two of them into each other. Dixie let go of Hershel and jumped back.

"Do you want to walk down to the bar?," she asked. He nodded, trying to figure out what had just happened. Later he would replay the moment in his mind and curse himself for not kissing her. Dixie got the harness one of her dads had made for her to use on the tiger cub until she got it trained. She fastened it on. The small tiger rolled around, batting at it and trying to get it off.

"Come one baby," Dixie said, "you will get used to it." She fastened on the leash. Hershel opened the door and she tried leading the small tiger out. He went out on the porch, but he was afraid to go down the stairs. Finally Dixie had to pick him up and carry him down. Hershel laughed at the cat. That thing was supposed to be some kind of man killer, and it wouldn't even walk down the porch steps. Then Dixie was trying to pull it along on the leash and the cat was going anywhere but where she wanted it to go.

"Hold on," Hershel told her, "I got an idea." He took off across the street and came back with the little wagon his mom used to pull his brothers around in when they were smaller. Dixie's face lit up in a big grin. She lifted up the baby tiger and put him in the wagon. Then she pet him until he relaxed. She took ahold of the handle of the wagon with one of her hands. She wasn't sure why, but she had the sudden urge to hold Hershel's hand. So she grabbed it with her free hand. He looked surprised but made no move to take his hand back. Then they walked down to the bar together, pulling the tiger cub behind them.


	23. Chapter 23

Jenny

It was getting hot inside the tent, and Jenny leaned out of bed and unzipped a few of the flaps to let in some air. Andrew had let Greg and Lori take his room inside the boarding house the night before. He and Jenny had sat up late out by the fire, listening to stories and telling some of their own. People had been laughing and drinking and singing along with some man from the Kingdom that was playing his guitar.

Jenny had met a woman named Michonne that she vaguely remembered from when she was little. And Michonne told Jenny about the time she met her mother and father, and how they had helped her group when they needed it most. It was hard to get any information about the past out of either of her parents, so Jenny had listened to the woman's story with rapt attention. She knew her parents had lived alone for a while, with Cassie, Desiree and Duane. And met back up with her Aunt Ricky here in Alexandria. But no one ever told her how they got separated or why. She tried to pry Michonne with questions, but the woman finally told Jenny she thought it might be better if she got her answers from her parents.

"Mornin' sleepy head," Andrew said, reaching over to pull a small piece of white fluff out of her hair. Jenny looked him over. His chest was bare and the blankets were covering him from the waist down. The shell necklace he wore was mising. She knew he had it under his pillow. That was where he put it when he didn't want to sleep with it on. He was missing his usual ponytail and instead, his hair was falling down around his face and onto his naked chest. Jenny reached over and touched a lock of it, letting the silky soft strands slip through her fingers. Then she moved closer so she could bury her face in it. His hair was so soft, and no matter how long he stayed in Alexandria, it still smelled salty. She kissed his neck, sucking at him so she could get a taste of his skin.

"Where was all this last night?," he asked her, "you just passed right out on me." Jenny giggled. All that whiskey, plus the cider and whatever they had been passing aroud and drinking out of that jar by the fire might have had a little something to do with that.

"Sorry," she said, "I drank too much." Last night was the first time she had ever slept with a man without sleeping with him.

"Its alright honey," he said, running his hands down her waist and getting a handful of her curves, "I was just teasing you." She kissed down his neck to his collarbone.

"I hope you're not teasing me now," she said. He raised his eyebrows at her and tossed off the blanket that had been covering him from the hips down.

"Does it look like I'm teasing?," he asked her, gesturing towards his morning erection. It was thick and hard and pointing upwards so that it almost touched his stomach. He was a little old to still be having wet dreams, but with Jenny in his bed he felt like he was a teenager again. Just the smell of her was enough to make him fully aroused.

Jenny smiled at him, enjoying the view. Then she turned on her back and wiggled out of her shorts so that she was completely naked. She reached over and ran the backs of her knuckles over his manhood, making him moan. His hips raised up towards her touch. She slid down and leaned over him, taking the tip of him into her mouth and swirling her tounge around him. He mumbled a few curse words and raised his hips up again, pushing the part of him that was now swollen and throbbing deeper into her mouth. She relaxed her throat, taking as much of him into her mouth as she could. Then she felt his hands under her arms, pulling her mouth up and away from his hard on. Once she had her mouth on them, guys normally didn't want her to stop. So for a moment, she was worried that she did something wrong. But then he pushed her down onto her back and started kissing her deeply on the mouth. His hand went between her legs, a finger sliding inside to make sure she was ready for him.

And then his hand was gone, and he was pushing inside her, making her gasp for air. He stopped kissing her and propped himself up on his hands so he could look at her while he had her. Everytime he pumped into her, it made her perky little breasts bounce and jiggle. And her dark nipples were hard and pointy. She put her arms up and gripped the pillow that was under her head, eyes closed, biting at her lower lip, her eyebrows drawn together in intense concentration. Then she felt it. The release and the wonderful spasms that ran through her body, making her forget everything she ever told herself about boys and men and love and how it was all a bunch of made up bullshit. This was love. Or maybe she just loved this. It was hard to separate where one began and the other one ended.

When she came, Andrew came with her, feeling her walls tighten in around him as he found his release. He pushed gently a few more times, loving the feeling of being inside her. Then he withdrew and collapsed on his sleeping bag next to her, trying to catch his breath. They must have been a little louder than they meant to be, since he heard some assorted laughter and cat calling coming from outside his tent. And it was late in the morning to still be in bed. By the way the sun was shining into the tent, he guessed it was almost time for lunch. He hoped no one was missing Jenny. She usually had chores she had to get up and do in the morning.

"Well well well," her Aunt Ricky called to her from the kitchen doorway, "look who finally decided to join us." Then she laughed. RickyJo leaned against the doorframe to take in Jenny's bedraggled appearance. The girl's hair was all mashed up around her head and sticking out in fluffy clumps. Her face was flushed and her shirt was half tucked into her shorts.

"Are those the clothes you had on yesterday?," RickyJo asked her neice, "God lord Jenny." She was having a hard time keeping a straight face while she scolded the girl. "Was it the pirate again?"

"His name is Andrew," Jenny informed her Aunt, "and he is the leader of Seaside, not a pirate."

"Oh," RickyJo said mockingly, "this one has himself a name does he?" She paused to try and stop herself from laughing. "Andrew the non pirate." Jenny reminded RickyJo so much of Jessica at that age, it was hard not to see the humor in the situation. She hoped Jessica was finally getting some understanding of the torture she had put her grandparents through all those years ago.

Merle, having overheard some of the conversation from inside the kitchen, appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a long plastic apron that was covered in some sort of blood, Jenny guessed they must be butchering up something in there. His hair needed a cut and there was more blood smeared on one side of his face. He pointed at her with the arm that didn't have a hand on the end of it.

"You tell ur pirate boyfriend he owes me a bottle of whiskey," Merle told her. Jenny walked over, cocking her hand up on her hip and looking at him with the normal amount of sass she usually gave the man.

"We didn't take your nasty old whiskey," she told him, "you probably got so drunk you drank it yourself and then forgot about it." It was only a half lie. She and Andrew had taken the bottle, but it was already mostly gone by that time. "You know I think you might be getting senile," Jenny added. With that comment, Jenny's Aunt burst into laughter.

"Laugh it up," Merle told his wife. Then he looked at Jenny, the corners of his mouth turning up in the most evil grin she had ever seen. Now she knew she was in trouble. "Not going to be laughing when I tell yer pa where you were last night," he told Jenny. Jenny's mouth dropped open and she looked at him with an expression of absolute horror. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Her dad would lay a damn egg if he found out what she was up to. And her Aunt was not looking like she was going to step in to defend her either. Merle gave Jenny another grin and then smacked RickyJo hard on the ass before he sauntered back into the kitchen. Her Aunt gave a little yelp and then laughed at him, rubbing her behind. Jenny stood there a moment, and then went rushing past her Aunt to chase after him.

"You can't tell my dad," she whined, "you can't. I'm sorry for what I said." Merle tried to pretend he was still angry with her, but he always had a soft spot for Jenny. He threw an arm around her and she flung herself against him, ignoring the mess on the front of his apron.

"Tell ya what," he said, "you help me butcher up the rest of this here pig, and I won't tell your daddy on you." Jenny stepped back and looked at him to make sure he was serious. He pointed to the giant boar carcass sitting on the big metal table in the middle of the kitchen. "Deal?," he asked her. She nodded vigorously.

Jessica had just returned from helping Dixie with the skunk mess. She watched her daughter and Merle from the doorway. It had been so many years now, but whenever she saw Merle interact with her children, it always gave her a little pang of regret in the pit of her stomach. _Never should have told him I was glad the baby wasn't his because he would be the worst kind of father._ Jessica and Merle had shared a lot of angry words with each other after Desiree was born, but that was the one thing she wished she could take back.

Jenny grabbed a long apron from a hook on the wall and put it on. Then she picked up a cleaver and set to work. Her mother came in and went back to helping her Aunt with whatever they had been doing. It looked like they were drying and canning more blueberries, and getting something together to put out for lunch.

"Hey Mom," Jenny said.

"Hey what?," Jessica answered her, giving her daughter a smile. She pretended not to notice that her daughter was in the same clothes she had been wearing the night before.

"You know Glenna has nothing to wear to the festival," Jenny said. Merle shook his head. He had a few choice words to say about Glenna's mother after this morning. But RickyJo didn't know about the incident, and he thought it was best if it stayed that way. She was stressed out enough trying to keep an eye on all the boarders and help Carl get everything ready for the festival. The last thing she needed was to go stirring up shit with Maggie.

"Her mother didn't have anything made for her?," Jessica asked. Jenny shook her head.

"She said her mom told her to wear her dress from last year," Jenny said. Even she had the sense to know there was no way Glenna was fitting into anything she wore last year. Jenny didn't even fit into her old stuff from last summer. Well not the pants anyway. She swore her ass had doubled in size since then.

"I wish she would have told us before now," RickyJo said with a bit of irritation, "I could have paid Kim to make her something. Now it's too late. The festival is in a few days." And this was about more than just Glenna's dress. The kids got up in front of everyone to represent the whole community. And if one of them looked like a mess, it made everyone look bad. It would make Alexandrians look like they didn't take care of each other.

"What about my wedding dress?," Jessica said.

"You think that girl is going to fit into anything of yours?," Merle asked her. It wasn't so much of an insult as it was just the plain truth. Jessica had ass for days but her waist was tiny.

"I was pregnant when I got married," Jessica reminded him, "Really pregnant. That dress was a tent on me, it was the only thing we had that was white that would fit over my stomach."

"I bet that would work," Jenny said, feeling excited that she was actually going to be able to help. "Can I take it over to her later?," she asked. Jessica nodded. Jenny smiled to herself and finished slicing the belly off the boar. Her aunt came over and took it, slicing the skin off to make what she called chicharrones and everyone else called cracklins. They used almost every single bit of the animal, even the fat was rendered off and used for cooking and soap making. But the belly was a prime cut. Her mom and her Aunt brined it for two weeks in buckets inside the big walk in refrigerator and then smoked it. After it was cut up, they fried in in hot pans until it was crispy. They called it bacon, and as far as Jenny was concerned it was pretty much the best tasting food ever. Normally two of the legs would be taken off and made into prosciutto, so it could be preserved without it having to be kept cold. But since they had so many people to feed at the moment, all of this hog was probably going straight into the slow cookers.

"Get the loins out next," Merle told her, "we are taking those home with us for dinner." They worked a while in relative silence, the music from one of the radios in the bar room drifting in. Daryl came back from the house and started in, helping his brother hold the pig open so Jenny could reach, or in this case practically climb inside the pig to get the loins out from either side of the spine. Dixie showed up, and her mother was happy to announce that she smelled much better than she had when she dropped the pig off. Jenny felt torn between feeling sad that she didn't get to see her cousin covered in skunk musk, and glad she had not been there to smell it. There was a small argument as to whether or not the small tiger cub was going to be allowed in the kitchen. Dixie finally agreed to leave it out in the bar room after several people offered to keep and eye on it. Then she trudged back into the kitchen, giving her mother an angry look, which her mother promptly ignored.

"Did you already tell them about Glenna not having a dress," Dixie asked her cousin. Jenny nodded.

"My mom thinks she had something that might fit her," Jenny said. Dixie sighed in relief. She would have been happy to loan the girl something if she had anything that would fit her. Jenny had been trying to stay back from her cousin, worried that she might still smell bad or some of the stink might get on her. But the other girl was quite close to her now, and she didn't smell bad at all. In fact, she smelled good, and not in a clean soap freshly washed way, but in an expensive way. Jenny knew what perfume was. She had several bottles she had gotten as gifts from different men.

"You smell like perfume," Jenny said, leaning back to look at Dixie's face. She was blushing. Who had given Dixie perfume? She had not been talking to any men that Jenny knew of. And she didn't think Dixie would trade for something like that. Dixie didn't care how she smelled. Daryl looked up from the hog, narrowing his eyes at his daughter, who was staring down at her feet, her cheeks turning redder by the second. He came around the table and leaned in, sniffing at her. She swatted him away.

"Stop sniffing me," she insisted, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do smell like perfume," he said, "expensive perfume." Dixie's mother turned to watch the exchange, but did not offer her opinion. When they were setting out the food for lunch, she had noticed her daughter smelled very grown up. But she had decided not to say anything about it in front of Dixie's fathers. Daryl, in particular, could be totally unreasonable when it came to Dixie and boys. RickyJo found his attitude ridiculous, especially since she knew for fact that he would have been more than happy to get into her pants when she was that age.

"Come 'ere," Merle told the girl. Dixie kicked at the floor and trudged over towards him reluctantly. He dipped his head down and smelled her.

"Who gave you the perfume?," he asked her. There were big pink blotches on each of her cheeks now. He was more interested in why she was blushing so much than where she had got the toilet water.

"No one," she said, crossing her arms under her breasts. She stuck her bottom lip out, a stubborn look on her face.

"Who was it?," Jenny asked, more excited than her uncles. If little miss high and mighty had a boyfriend she wanted to know. Details later. Dixie gave her an evil stare. Jenny just laughed at her. "Who was it Dixie?"

"Nobody," Dixie insisted.

"Then why is your face all red?," Jenny asked her. Whoever it was, she clearly liked him. "If he gave you perfume," Jenny announced, "he definately wants to have sex with you." She had only said it to tease Dixie, but she could see her words had more of an effect on Daryl. His face was redder than his daughter's. He slammed his hand down on the metal table, making everyone jump.

"Who gave it to you?," he asked her again. Dixie's bottom lip started quivering. Her Daddy Daryl never yelled at her. And she hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Hershel gave it to me," she finally spit out, saying his name like it was a curse word. She turned to Jenny. "And he doesn't want to have sex with me, he was just being nice!," she hollered at her cousin. Daryl threw his hands up and blew out the air her was holding in, making a noise like a horse. If Hershel had given it to her, she should have said that shit in the first place. He had assumed some grown man was trying to move in on his daughter. Dixie gave Daryl a look that made him feel like the meanest most terrible person that ever walked the earth, then she wrapped her arms around Merle and buried her face in his shoulder. Daryl figured he had better leave her alone. Jenny, however, was on the scent of some juicy gossip like a dog with a bone.

"If Hershel gave it to you," Jenny asked, "then why were you blushing?" "Do you like him," Jenny asked, "Is he your boyfriend now?" Dixie let go of her father and turned back to the meat she had been getting ready to chop up and run through the meat grinder for sausage. Jenny followed her over to the counter, unwilling to let the subject go. She leaned her hip against the counter and stared at Dixie, waiting for an answer.

"No!," Dixie finally told her, "I told you he was just being nice." Jenny made a little clicking noise with her tounge. Then she tilted her head to the side and looked at her cousin. She might not be much older than Dixie, but she had a lot more experience when it came to men. She decided to give her cousin a bit of advice that she wished someone had passed on to her a few years ago.

"Boys are only nice because they are hoping you will have sex with them later."


	24. Chapter 24

Hershel

The whole walk back to the bell tower, Hershel felt like his feet had not touched the ground once. He was thinking about how warm Dixie's hand was and how right it had felt to have her fingers intertwined with his. And the look in her eyes, her pupils dialated, making her blue eyes look dark and dreamy. He lifted up his shirt and held it to his nose and it still smelled like Dixie.

Duane was keeping watch on the gate, and Hershel gave him a nod before he opened it up and headed out to the radio booth. When he stepped inside, he saw a pile of books inside the door. They had either not been there when he left, or he had walked past them without noticing in his hurry to go beg that perfume from his mom. She had given it to him, but only after he had agreed to feed his brothers dinner, bath them and put them to bed later while his mom and dad went down to the bar for dinner. He hated babysitting, but it was going to worth every terrible minute.

The books all had bookmarks sticking out of them in all directions. He poked through the pile and saw they were all occult based titles. Glenna must have come out to show him what she found. Hershel rushed up to the booth, expecting to find his cousin up there, but the booth was empty. He rubbed his head, wondering where Glenna could be. She had to have come outside the walls to leave the books, but if she didn't stay in the booth, she would have gone back into town. And he had not passed her on his way out or seen her when he had walked past the new library or the bar. It worried him a little. He decided if she didn't turn up soon, he would go look for her.

About a half hour later, Glenna turned up. Her face was flushed and she seemed to be smiling more than she normally did. She came inside the small booth and flopped her books down on the floor. Then she ran back down the steps to grab the books she had dropped on the way up. She flopped down the the extra chair with a huff, the chair groaning in protest but holding her weight. Hershel was ready to ask her where she had been, but she started right in on what she had found in her books. The first thing she showed him was a picture of a man in a strange looking mask.

"You sure you saw this guy in the woods?," Hershel asked her. All he had seen was a crazy smart walker. He was hoping maybe there was a more simple explanation, like maybe it had just been a regular person covered in blood that just looked like a walker. That's what he had been telling himself so he could sleep at night anyway.

"Not that guy, but someone in a mask like that," Glenna said. Hershel rolled his eyes at her. Why did she have to take everything so literally. She smiled again, blushed, and then looked back down at her books.

"I know it wasn't the actual guy from this book," he said, laughing a little now, "but you are sure you saw someone that looked like this?" Glenna nodded. When the book had fallen open to that page, it had almost scared the life out of her. She was sure of what she saw. "So what does that mean?," he asked, chewing at the hangnail on his thumb. Glenna took a deep breath. What she was about to say was going to sound crazy. Real crazy.

"It means I think someone is controlling the walkers with some kind of magic," she said.

"Magic?," Hershel asked her. "Like in a Harry Potter book?" He had read all those books when he was a kid. But his mom had always told him that kind of thing was just make believe. It was pretend, like when he and MJ used to try and ride the goats around and play like they were fire breathing dragons.

"These are not Harry Potter books," Glenna said, shoving a book into his hands, "they are non fiction. They are books about a religion from some place called Haiti and another place called Louisiana."

"'Old world towns?," Hershel asked. She nodded. That's what she had guessed anyway. Her mother told her the world used to be a lot bigger, with planes and trains and giant boats that held thousands of people and took them to far away places. Now the farthest anyone went was a few days away and you had to ride a horse to get there.

Hershel flipped through the book, taking a look at the pages Glenna had marked and reading the passages she had underlined. The books confirmed what she was saying. "So it wasn't a smart walker," he commented, chewing his thumb again.

"No, I think someone was controlling it like a puppet. But with magic instead of strings." Glenna sat back and watched Hershel's face. He was thinking about the walker he had seen through his binoculars. Then it had looked for a moment like it was right on top of him. He had assumed that he must have imagined it. But maybe that had been magic too, used to scare him. Hershel wasn't sure if he should be relieved, or more afraid.

Suddenly, Glenna was on her feet, her face almost pressed against the window. Hershel got up and followed her gaze. But there was nothing there. He felt a chill crawl up his arms and then run down his back.

"What is it?," he asked her.

"I thought I saw some people coming in on the road," she said, "but they ducked into the woods."

"How many?"

"Just a few, they were far away, so it was hard to tell. Four or five maybe?," Glenna said, sounding unsure.

"Could have been walkers," Hershel commented, getting out his binoculars to take a better look.

"They had guns."

"Sometimes people like to hunt right before they come to town," Hershel said, "so they have something to offer." He was wondering if he should sound the alarm. Since he couldn't even see the men anymore, it seemed silly to have everyone come out and hold the gaunlet for nothing. And it was probably just more stragglers coming in for the festival. One year some men had shown up that claimed they were from a place that was years away, on the other side of what they called the country. They had a huge map that they were making, marking towns they found along the way. His brother Carl had a copy of the map, and there had been some talk about a group getting together and going on a long journey to check out some of the places the men had visited. But in the end no one ended up going.

"I am not sounding the alarm," Hershel said, "but I will tell my dad later." Glenna nodded and sat back down. She returned to digging through her books, showing Hershel pictures and telling him the information she had found. She could tell by the look on his face that he believed her now. He listened to her with a lot of interest, and without interrupting her. When she was done, he put his hand on hers, on top of the book that was in her lap.

"I am glad you figured out what is going on," he said, "but we need to know is how to beat this thing." Glenna nodded, but that's where her research had failed her.

"According to the books," she said, "we need a good Houngan or Mambo to fight the bad one with light magic." Hershel scowled, pushing his eyebrows together. They didn't exactly have one of those just lying around here in Alexandria.

"Is there anything else we can do?," he asked, trying to think up anything. If a man was controlling the walkers, they could just kill him. But finding him was another story. Hershel was hoping for some kind of magic spell they could use to protect the town ot just make the guy drop dead.

"One book said to use salt."

"Salt?," he asked in disbelief. Glenna nodded. Hershel sighed and ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back and away from his face. "This guy can control walkers and we are supposed to throw table seasonings at him. Maybe we should try some pepper instead, at least that would make him sneeze." Glenna laughed before she could stop herself, and then covered her mouth.

"Another book said to make an amulet to protect yourself," Glenna told him.

"Amulet? What's that?"

"I think its like jewelry with a religious image or some kind of special stone or rock on it."

"That might work," Hershel said. It sounded better than the salt idea at least. "But we can't make one for everyone in town."

"No," Glenna agreed, "but we could make them for ourselves."


	25. Chapter 25

Glenna

Her mother had not said one more word to her after their confrontation in the street. When they got home, Maggie went straight up to her bedroom and shut the door. Normally, that would make Glenna scared. Her mother was prone to depression and sometimes it got so bad that Glenna's Aunt Beth had to come over and physically force her sister to get out of bed. Glenna knew sometimes her mother couldn't help it, but there were other times she was sure the woman did it just for the attention. And to get her way. Well, Glenna told herself, if she wants to sulk in there all day, she can knock herself out.

As she stepped into her room, Glenna wrinkled up her nose. Something really stunk. She followed her nose over to the window where the ladder was still leaning against the side of the house. _Guess I wasn't being as sneaky as I thought._ There were a few large dirty footprints where MJ had climbed in the window to help her climb down. She bent down to sniff at them, then backed up quickly. Fucking MJ, what the hell had he been stepping in before he climbed up into her window? Smelled like dried on dog shit.

After cleaning up the mess in her room, Glenna took a long shower and swathed herself in the only towel they had that was big enough to wrap all the way around her. It was blue and yellow and it had a big cartoon mermaid with bright red hair on it. The picture on the towel gave her a funny thought. If black magic voodoo doctors were real, maybe mermaids were real too. It would be fun to be a mermaid. She smiled to herself and headed into her bedroom, which now thankfully smelled a lot less like dog poop and more like the soap she and her mom used to wash their laundry.

The baggy shorts she usually wore were really dirty, so Glenna was faced with finding something else to wear. She poked through the clothes hanging in her closet, pushing all the things towards the back that she knew wouldn't fit her. Her wardrobe consited mostly of things people had found and randomly given her. Nothing matched and nothing was cute like the stuff the other girls wore. She finally settled on a pair of jeans that she prayed would zip up and button, a long tank top with stretchy sides that Jenny's mom had given her and a baggy western style shirt. She yanked the jeans on and prepared herself to suck in hard so she could button them up, but found they snapped around her waist easily. Either they were a different pair than the ones she thought they were, or she was smaller than the last time she had tried to get into them. Glenna had been lugging books from all over town down to the library. Maybe she had lost some weight. It was a drop in the bucket, but it was better than getting even bigger.

She knelt down and strapped the small knife she carried onto her ankle. Then she gathered up the books she was going to show Hershel and set off for the radio booth. Once she was on her front porch, Glenna could hear some commotion going on in Dixie's backyard. There was some high pitched squealing that had to be Dixie, and then laughter. Glenna thought about walking over to see what was going in, but then changed her mind and pressed on down the street towards the front gate, holding her stack of books tightly against her chest. When she got closer to the bar, the smell of fried eggs and fresh bread made her stomach start to rumble. Glenna was still a little afraid to go into the bar alone. But she remimnded herself that nothing had happened to her the last time.

Hunger won out over her nerves and Glenna set her books outside near the front entrance and walked inside. More people must have come into town for the festival, because the place was packed with unfamiliar faces. Glenna could feel their eyes on her. In the new world, it was very unusual to see someone as big as her. People in Alexandria were used to her by now, but new people always stared. She felt like they were all watching her to see how much she was going to eat.

Dixie's mom came out of the kitchen with a huge basket of muffins, picking up and empty basket and setting the full one in its place. She smiled when she saw Glenna and walked over to greet her.

"Hi honey," she said to the girl, putting her hand gently on Glenna's back and leading her over to where she had the food set up. "There's blueberry muffins and bread here. Hot plates and pans to cook the eggs over there. And over to the side there, is yogurt and fruit and homemade granola. You go on and get whatever you want." Glenna smiled at the woman, who was making her feel much more at ease. RickyJo was debating on whether or not to say anything else to the girl. "I am glad to finally see you getting out of the house and coming down here," RickyJo finally spit out, "its good for you to be around other people." _And away from your mother._ She didn't have to say that part. She had a feeling Glenna knew what she was implying.

Plus a little birdy with a very big mouth had told RickyJo that Glenna had slept over in her son's room the night before. And RickyJo really wanted to ask her about it, but felt it was probably not the most appropriate topic of conversation. If she had just spent a romantic night with a young man, the last thing she would want was that young man's mother asking her questions about it the next day. So instead she hugged the big girl tightly against her chest for a moment and then hurried back into the kitchen.

Glenna stared after the woman, wondering what all the hugging had been about. Then she brushed off the front of her shirt where a bit of flour had rubbed off from RickyJo's kitchen apron. People were digging into the large basket of muffins with enthusiasm, so Glenna took one. She filled up a glass with iced tea and looked around for a place to sit. There was not a single open chair, and there were people leaning against the bar and eating standing up. So she walked back outside and sat down in a soft spot on the grass near the side of the building and nibbled her muffin, more comfortable watching all the activity and commotion from a distance. She heard some giggling from around the back of the building and saw Lori walking out with that man from Seaside that had been drinking with them at Dixie's house the night before. He had his hands all over her, and she was laughing and trying to push him away. He pushed her up against the side of the building. Glenna sucked in her breath, scared for a moment that the man might try to hurt her friend. But all he did was kiss her softly on the lips. Then Lori took his hand and they started walking towards the front of the bar.

"My dad isn't in there is he?," Lori asked Glenna as they were walking by. Glenna shook her head.

"I didn't see him," she told Lori. Lori smiled.

"Is that a blueberry muffin?," Greg asked her, giving Glenna a big smile even though he was holding Lori's hand.

"Yes," she said sheepishly. Then she looked down.

"Come on," Greg told Lori, "I am fucking starving." He swatted playfully at Lori's behind and the two of them took off. Before they went inside, the man looked back at Glenna and gave her another smile. It was obvious that Lori had slept all night in that man's bed. And Glenna wondered what else they had done. Maybe they had done _it._ The man had been trying to talk to Glenna first. If she had gone back with him instead of Lori, would he have tried to do _it_ with her? Glenna's mother had never given her a sex talk. _She probably thought I didn't need one since no man would ever want me._ But Glenna had read enough romance novels. She had a pretty good idea of what men and women did when they were alone together. The sudden thought of waking up next to MJ crept back into her mind and she felt her cheeks get hot. They had not done _it,_ but she had slept in his bed all night, which was more than Dixie or Sarah had done with a boy.

And then suddenly MJ was there, heading past where she was sitting towards the back of the bar. Glenna smoothed her hair down, hoping he would see her there, and also hoping he wouldn't.

"Hey Glenna," he said, spotting her right away, "I thought yer mom was putting you on lock down." He jumped up and grabbed a branch of the tree she was sitting under and started swinging around like a monkey. She had to duck to avoid being kicked directly in the head.

"You better come down before you fall down," she told him.

"I won't fall down," he said, "I am like a fucking jungle cat." With that the branch he was swinging from snapped with a loud crack and he flopped onto the ground, leaves flinging up everywhere. The loud noise brought his mother out the back door of the bar. She saw MJ on his ass and leaves everywhere. His long arm shot out from between the branches.

"Its alright mom," he yelled, "I'm ok!" RickyJo just shook her head and went back inside. There was no point in scolding MJ, he never listened. She had been telling him to stay out of those damn apple trees since he was five. At this point, if he broke his neck, it was his own damn fault.

"So what are you doing?," MJ asked after he climbed out from under the tree branch.

"Going to see Hershel," Glenna told him. She left out the reason why.

"At his house?"

"No, at the radio booth," Glenna told him. They were meeting there so they could talk without anyone hearing them.

"Outside the walls?," MJ asked, cocking his head at her. Glenna never went outside the walls. "Not allowed to go out there without a weapon."

"I have this." Glenna pulled up her pant leg and showed him the small hunting knife she had hidden there. MJ laughed.

"Whatcha gonna do with that toothpick?"

"Stab your stupid ass if you don't stop laughing at me," she informed him. Glenna almost covered her mouth after that flew out. She didn't normally talk to people like that. MJ stared at her a moment before he started up laughing again, even harder this time.

"Come on." He got up and grabbed Glenna by the upper part of her arm and hauled her up along side him. "My mom has a ton of extra guns down in the gun safe in the cellar." Glenna followed him reluctantly. She didn't really want a gun. And she had no idea how to shoot one. But she figured she could just carry it with her and give it back later. It would be easier than trying to argue with MJ.

MJ twisted the combination lock around until the gun safe popped open with a clink. Then he dug through the guns until he found a small revolver in a holster that she could use. He checked to make sure it was loaded, and then snapped it closed and handed it to Glenna. She held the gun awkwardly, like it was a disease or a baby bird she didn't want to squeeze to tight.

"You know how to use that dontcha?," he asked. She raised her eyebrows up. Glenna wasn't sure what to say. She was a little embarrassed that she had never shot a gun before. Finally she shook her head and tried to hand the gun back.

"Ya ain't never shot a gun before?," he asked, "Not ever?" MJ was looking at her like she had suddenly sprouted a second head. He couldn't remember a time that he had not known how to use a gun. His mom used to carry him on her back when she went hunting. And when he got a little bigger than that, his dad and his uncle took him out hunting and fishing and shooting. He was hitting pop cans with a slingshot before he learned how to read. MJ got his first walker when he was seven.

"No," Glenna admitted, "so just keep it. I can walk to the bell tower without it." MJ ignored her and walked over to the bottom of the steps. He yelled so loud she almost put her hands up to cover her ears.

"Mooooom!," he hollered, "Moooom! MOM!" RickyJo appeared at the top of the steps.

"Do not call me like a dog MJ," she told him, "how many times do I have to tell you that." He thought about pointing out that she had come when he called her. Like a dog. But he quickly decided telling her that might not be in his best interest.

"Where are the rubber practice bullets?," he asked her.

"What do you want with rubber bullets? You aren't going to shoot your uncle with them again, are you?"

"Mooom!," he protested, "that was like three months ago." Now he knew why the practice bullets were hidden.

"What are you doing with them?," RickyJo asked him. Poor Daryl had a scar on his back where MJ had sniped at him out of a tree. Of course Merle had thought the whole thing was hilarious. She wouldn't be surprised if he had put MJ up to it in the first place, though he would never admit it.

"Taking Glenna out practice shooting," he said. His mother cocked her hand up on her hip and looked at him, trying to decide if he was telling the truth. A nice walk by the lake is where he should be taking that girl. Or maybe for a picnic. Not out shooting.

"They are under the shelf with the applesauce on it," she told him. She laughed as her son dashed off out of view. A few moments later he appeared with Glenna in tow, hauling her along behind him by the hand. He had a small bag over one shoulder. The poor girl looked like she just swallowed a bug. "Be careful," RickyJo reminded her son. Once they couldn't see her anymore, she had a good laugh.

Glenna stopped at the front of the bar to pick up her books. MJ glanced at the books but didn't ask her about them. She followed MJ to the front gates, wondering how in the world she allowed herself to her roped into this. She was suppposed to be meeting Hershel to talk about that walker, not going out shooting with a half crazy tree climbing lunatic. They stopped by the bell tower. She was hoping Hershel was in there, but MJ just took the books and stacked them inside the door. He didn't call up to Hershel. She noticed he was careful with her books, and handled them gently instead of tossing them inside like trash. It made her smile, she remembered most of the books Jenny had given her from their house belonged to his dad. Maybe MJ liked to read too. She couldn't picture him sitting down to dig into a good book, but then again, it was hard to imagine his dad doing it either. After he stacked up the books, he shut the door to the bell tower and headed off into the woods. Glenna looked at the door to the bell tower and then back at MJ. She sighed and set off trudging after him.

"Slow down MJ, my legs are not that long."

"Sorry," he said, stopping and waiting for her to catch up. They were about to turn a corner into the woods. Once they did, the walls of Alexandria would be out of view. Glenna felt a sudden surge of fear wash over her. She had never been this far away from home before. MJ could see she was hesistating, looking back towards the front gate.

"Ain't you ever been out here before either?" She shook her head.

"My mom said I couldn't go outside the walls. She said people die out here."

"People die in there too," MJ remarked. Glenna's mom was what his uncle liked to call nuttier than squirrel shit. He felt bad for Glenna. There was no reason to be afraid to go outside, as long as you had your weapons with you. He walked back and took her hand. "Come on," he said, "I ain't gonna let nothing happen to you. If we see any biters, I will stab them right in the head." Glenna swallowed hard and nodded. Then she let him lead her deeper into the woods.

"How far have you been outside the walls?," she asked.

"Couple years ago Deanna watched the bar for my mom and we all went out on the road for a month. My mom and dad and my Uncle Daryl, they took me and Dixie to see the ocean and then we circled back around and went to visit Hilltop. My mom wanted us to see the ocean. It was important to her, I guess. I didn't really understand why until we got there."

"What was it like?" Glenna had seen pictures of the ocean, and maps. But really seeing it would probably be a lot better than a picture.

"Wet and salty," he said with a laugh. Glenna rolled her eyes. But then his tone changed and got more serious. "It's water that just goes on forever, as far as you can see. Big waves crashing in. We went swimming and we dug for clams and cooked them over a fire on the beach. Dixie cried when it was time to leave." He said the last part with an evil little smirk. Really MJ had cried too when they had to leave. But he wasn't going to tell Glenna that. He wanted to stay there forever. They took the saddles off the horses and rode them in the surf and camped in the dunes. He and his dad shot down half a dozen stupid fat white seagulls and his mom roasted them on spits over the fire. It was the most fun he had ever had.

Glenna listened quietly to what he told her about the ocean, trying to get a picture of it in her head. The only place she had ever gone swimming was in the bathtub. There was a lake out behind Alexandria. People liked to climb the back wall and go out there to swim, but Glenna had only been brave enough to climb the wall and watch them disappear into the woods.

"I've never even been to the lake," Glenna admitted. She wasn't sure why she said it. Maybe because he had told her something personal.

"Want to go?," MJ asked. He was determined to take her for a shooting lesson. But the day was gettting warm. Maybe they could go to the lake after.

"I don't even have a suit," Glenna said, hoping that would be the end of the discussion. She should have known if she said she had never been to the lake that he was going to want to go there. He turned back to give her a wicked grin.

"We could go skinny dipping," he told her. Glenna wrinkled up her face like he had suggested they roll around in the compost bins. The thought of taking her clothes off, in the middle of the day, in front of someone else was not an appealing thought.

"Don't be nasty," she told him. That made him laugh. Besides, all the girls did it. He had gone out there with Hershel and spied on them. It had been pretty exciting for about ten minutes. Once the girls were in the water all the boys could see was their heads and they quickly got bored and left.

"We are here," MJ announced. The woods opened up into a field. The grass was well trampled and there was a long fence set up with some bottles and cans and other junk lying around. It was clear to Glenna that people came here often to practice shooting. Some archery targets were stacked up against a tree. She would shoot the gun today, but Glenna was more interested in learning how to shoot the bow the other girls had given her. Bows were what all the other girls used, and most of the boys. Arrows could be used more than once and they could make new ones. Bullets not so much.

MJ set his bag down on the grass and poked through it, taking out the gun he had tried to give Glenna earlier and shaking the real bullets out of it so he could load it up with the practice ones. Then he handed her the gun. She took it and stood there holding it, feeling stupid. He nodded his head towards the targets on the fence across the field.

"Try to shoot at something," he told her. Glenna turned and raised the gun up. But she was holding it all wrong. It she shot it off like that, it was going to kick back and hit her in the face. "Hold on," he said quickly. Then he stood up

"Square up your shoulders," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders and pulling them back. Having his hands on her like that made Glenna feel funny. His hands were big and strong looking, with calluses on the palms and a few scars on his knuckles she had not noticed before. He stuck his foot between he ankles and kicked her feet apart.

"Ouch," she declared. It hadn't really hurt, but it startled her.

"Well spread yer legs apart then," he said. Then he realized what he said and laughed. He got control of himself and went back to the lesson. "Hold the gun with both hands," he told her. Then he wrinkled his face up. She wasn't holding it right, and he wasn't sure how to teach her. He had never taught someone how to shoot a gun before, it seemed like everyone just grew up knowing how. He helped Hershel teach his little brothers how to use a slingshot. But slingshots didn't kick back like a gun. MJ chewed on his lower lip. Then Glenna felt him come around behind her.

He put one foot on the outside of each of hers and put his arms around her, pushing up on her elbows to lock her arms and then putting his hands on the tops of her wrists to keep the gun from kicking up and back. She could feel the heat from his body against her back. _No wonder he sleeps on top of the covers._ He was so tall he could rest his chin on the top of her head.

"No pick out somethin' to aim for," he told her. She was confused for a moment, were they still having a gun lesson. Because she was suddenly thinking about a lot of other things she would rather be doing then learning how to shoot a gun. Don't be nasty, she told herself. Then she looked across the field at the fence to try and pick out the easiest thing to aim for. There was an old brown beer bottle sitting on top of one of the fence posts.

"That brown bottle," she said, moving her arms so the gun was pointed at it.

"Look down the top of the gun and when you see it, pull the trigger." It was hard for him to tell if she was going to hit the bottle, since she was holding the gun much lower than he would, so the angle was awkward. Glenna took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the bottle and not the way it felt to have MJ's arms around her. That little voice inside her spoke up. _You are stupid if you think he likes you. Pretty girls like Judith are what he likes. What all boys like. Not fat ass hogs like you._ With the voice came a newfound rush of anger. She squeezed the trigger and the bottle across the field exploded.

MJ was jumping around, excited that she had actually hit something. He knew how discouraging it could be to learn a new weapon and not be able to hit what you wanted to at first. Glenna would still have to practice, but it was good she hit something on her first shot. She must have a good eye for shooting. Anyone could learn to shoot, but people with better eyesight could hit things that were further away. That's why his sister was a better long range shooter than he was.

"You want to try on your own now?," he asked. Glenna thought about it.

"No," she said, "I think I would rather you help me again."

They got some good practice in. But the noise eventually started attracting walkers. MJ would have rather taken them out and kept going, but he could tell Glenna was scared of them. So he picked up his bag and took her back to the bell tower. She tried to give him the gun back, but he told her to keep it. Then he dug the real bullets out of the bottom of the bag and dumped them carefully into her hand. She shoved them into her pocket and watched as he walked away back towards the front gates. The way his shoulders moved under his shirt as he walked made her bite at her lip while all the blood in her head rushed into her cheeks.

Glenna turned and went inside the tower, shutting the door behind her. The little pile of bullets pressed against her leg through the inside of her pants pocket. When she closed her eyes, she could still feel his arms around her. She had shot a gun for the first time that day. But years later, when she thought back to that day in the field, she would not remember it as the day she learned how to fight, or finally stopped being so afraid. She would remember it as the day she stopped writing love letters to her cousin.


	26. Chapter 26

Sarah

Sarah woke up to the same thing she woke up to almost everyday. A wet dog nose in her face. She had spent the entire afternoon the day before washing Wolf, but the smell of skunk musk was still lingering around her. She tried to make the dog sleep on her dog bed on the floor, but Wolf cried and whined until Sarah relented and let the dog climb up into her bed.

"Want to go out Wolf?," Sarah asked in a soft sleepy voice. Wolf ran to the door and gave a little puppy bark. Sarah rolled herself out of bed and opened the bedroom door, jumping back to keep from being run over by the silly dog. Wonder where the fire is? Then she smelled the aroma of breakfast meat wafting up from the kitchen. Ditched for a piece of fried sausage, she thought with a smile. Sarah took a peek out her window and then pulled some clothes on. The rain was coming down in a soft drizzle, but it was nothing that would keep her from getting out into the woods and checking her traps. After Sarah had seen that man, she had been afraid leave the walls. It was a feeling that was very unusual and new for her. Sarah had never been afraid of the woods before.

But after she went out with Dixie and Maria, she felt her confidence return. Now that she felt like she was on the hunt instead of being hunted, there was nothing that was going to keep her inside these walls. She pulled on a pair of the soft back pants she liked, with a tank top and a belt over top to hold her things. Then she grabbed the waterproof hood scarf contraption her mother made for her. It sat on her head like a hood on a sweatshirt, with long ends that hung down. She really wanted her mom to make her one with wolf ears so she and her dog could match, but her mother had said no. And then she had gone up to her bedroom and shut the door. Sarah put the thing on like a normal scarf for now, she would pull the hood part up when she was ready to go outside.

Down in the kitchen, there was a lot more commotion than she was used to. Maria and her parents were back from Hilltop, and had moved back into their old rooms. Plus, there were two young men from Hilltop boarding in the spare room that had come for the festival. Wolf was growling at one of them, even though Sarah had already introduced the dog to him the day before. Her mother gave the dog a dirty look and then gave another one to Sarah before she turned back to the food that was sizzling away on the stove. Sarah opened the back door and let Wolf out. She held the door open and stepped back to let her brother in. He had a large basket of eggs and some herbs from the garden in his arms. When he set them on the counter, Sarah's mother wrapped her arm around his waist and kissed him on the forehead.

"Thanks for helping with breakfast sweetie," her mother told him. He was a little too old to be kissed by his mother in front of people, but he hugged his mom back anyway. Sarah sighed a little to herself and leaned against the kitchen doorframe. She had shot the stupid pig her mom was cooking up, where was her thank you? Where was her hug and kiss? Sarah's mother wasn't intentionally cruel, but she never touched Sarah unless she had to.

When Sarah walked by the bar with Wolf, she heard a lot of commotion coming from out behind it. Wolf barked and darted towards the noise. Sarah tried to call the dog back, but when Wolf didn't come, she had no choice except to follow her. There were so many people crowded around, yelling and cheering, she couldn't see what was going on at first. It was not the nicest weather, so something exciting must be happening for everyone to be outside like this. Sarah circled the crowd, trying to lean up on the tiptoes of her boots and get a better look. But there were too many people in the way that were taller than her. Finally she climbed up on a chair to peer over the top of the crowd.

She could see Dixie's mom wrestling with another woman. It was that muscular looking black woman who's husband had given Dixie her tiger cub. At first Sarah thought they were fighting, but then she saw they both had plastic mouthguards in to protect their teeth and fingerless leather gloves on that people often wore to protect their palms when they were gardening. Deanna had not expressly forbidden wrestling and fighting for sport, but she had discouraged it. Sarah searched the crowd. When she saw Lori's father cheering along with everyone else, she laughed. This was just the first of many changes to come. Nothing major would change, the walls would still be there. But Carl was not Deanna. He had come of age out on the road during the worst part of the outbreak. Unlike Deanna, who only ever heard stories, he had seen what it was like out there. And thats why people had voted for him. They trusted him to make the kind of decisions that would keep Alexandria not only safe, but strong.

Sarah had seen enough. She found Wolf, who was sniffing around the outside of the crowd, nipping at people's heels. Snapping her leash on, Sarah lead the dog away from the crowd and back the way she had been going before the dog took off on her. She headed for the woods and the freedom she always found there.

Travis pulled his hood up higher so the front edge if it kept the water from getting on his face. His back was starting to soak through. He was tired and hungry and sick of following these men around. When his home had been overrun, he had been out in the orchards with his sister. He had heard the screaming and went running, but by the time he got there, it was too late for him to do anything for anyone. He told his sister to stay in the orchard, but when he went back for her, she was gone. Travis searched and searched, but he couldn't find a trace of her. He waited two days, hoping the herd would clear out, and then he went back home to see if anyone was left alive. That's when he had seen the men.

There were five of them. And they had the look of people that had been on the road a long time. People like that were either on a journey, or they lived on the road by choice. It was not uncommon for people to show up in Little Lake and offer to work or trade for fresh supplies. So Travis was not afraid of them at first.

"Hey boys," one of the man said, "we got ourselves a live one."

"All alone here?," another man asked.

"I was with my sister," Travis told them, "but she's gone now too."

"That's too bad," the first man said. Travis thought the man was showing him sympathy, but there was a funny tone to his voice.

"What are you going to do now?," the second man asked.

"I was going to look around for supplies and then try and walk to Alexandria I guess," Travis said. He knew Hilltop was closer, but he had never been there. He had been to Alexandria once and he remembered the way.

"Alexandria," one of the other men said, "ain't that the town they say is full of nothing but beautiful women?"

"Yeah, yeah," the first man said, "I heard about that place." He turned his attention back to Travis. "You know how to get there?" Travis nodded.

"I'm not sure if I could tell you the way," Travis said, "but I think I could show you." The man looked at each other. Finally the first one shrugged.

"Alright kid," he said, approaching Travis and sticking his hand out to the kid, "you show us the way and we will get you there in one peice."

Travelling with the men had been strange. They called him kid and never asked his real name or told him theirs. He only knew a few of their names because he had heard them talking to each other. Travis stayed quiet, and tried to eat and drink as little as possible. When he had seen the walls of Alexandria looming up ahead of them, he had been more relieved than ever before in his life. But then the men didn't want to go up to the front gate. They insisted on ducking into the woods. Travis thought maybe they wanted to do some hunting before they went in. When Travis had come here with his dad, they had stopped at a Lake on the way and caught a ton of fish. Then his dad had given them to a pretty woman with a lot of markings on her arms to pay for their stay. She had a daughter that looked like her and the girl had shown Travis around town and took him horseback riding.

Travis thought about suggesting again that they just go in through the front gates, but he was afraid one of the men might start swearing at him again. He was planning to run off and go in the front gate by himself, but it seemed like the men were suddenly watching him closely, something they had never done on the way here. There was a loud raucous coming from inside the walls and one of the men climbed the wall to see what was going on. He jumped back down.

"Looked like a couple chicks fighting," the man announced.

"How many women are in there?," another man asked.

"More than there are out here," the first man said with a laugh.

Then the men headed away from the wall again. One of them gave Travis a little shove to get him going. He guessed they were heading back down to a creek they found the day before to refill their canteens. When they heard barking, one of the men pulled Travis down behind a bush. A tallish girl walked down the path past them. She had a red hood on and her long black hair was hanging out the back out it, the ends swishing a little as she walked. A big grey dog ran up and growled at the bush Travis was hiding behind, but the girl whistled and it took off after her. Once the girl turned the corner, the men stood up. They seemed excited, but Travis wasn't sure why. Maybe they had been waiting for someone to come out that they could talk to before they went into town? One of the men thumped Travis on the chest.

"Time to have a little fun," he remarked. Travis looked at him questioningly, but the man just smiled. Then they started fanning out into the woods. The man that had spoke to Travis grabbed his shirt and pulled him along. They couldn't have the little snitch running into town and telling on them, now could they?

Sarah took a rabbit out of one of her traps and reached up above her head to reset it. She was trying to decide if she should gut the rabbit out now, or check all the traps first. It was warm and wet out, and things had a tendency to get nasty quick in this kind of weather. Then suddenly, Wolf was barking like crazy. A mean menacing bark, not the kind she used when she wanted Sarah to let her out of the house. Sarah pulled her knife out the the sheath quickly and turned just in time to see the man swinging the bat into her dog's head. Wolf yelped in pain and collapsed on the ground. Sarah screamed and lunged for the man with her knife. But she didn't even get close to him. Someone grabbed ahold of her by her long thick hair and yanked her backwards. The pain in her scalp made little black dots float in front of her eyes.

"Don't you hurt my dog," she screamed at the man that she could see. Then she swiped at the man who was holding onto her with her knife. But they were ready for her. Another man grasped her arm and pried the knife away from her. A million thoughts ran through her mind. The self defense training she had learned. How to get away from someone that was grabbing you. How to throw a larger and heavier opponent. How she was going to get away without leaving Wolf behind.

"I am not going to hurt your dog," the man that had hit Wolf with the bat told her, "I am going to kill your dog. I am going to eat your dog. But first I am going to fuck you." Sarah shot her leg out and kicked him in the knee. Then she threw her elbows behind her, trying to get free of the man that was holding her. But he had his hand locked firmly into her hair. The man she had kicked got back up and rubbed at his knee. Then he slapped her hard across the face with the back of his hand. Her mouth filled up with blood and she spit it at him. A thought came into her mind suddenly. It was something Dixie's mom told her. _If you are going to insist on going out alone, you stay close enough to the wall that we can hear you if you need to yell for help._ At the time, Sarah had been thinking it was good advice in case she sprained her ankle or something. But now she understood what the older woman had been afraid of. Sarah opened her mouth and started screaming bloody murder. First she just screamed at the top of her lungs, and then she started yelling for help.

"HELP! HELP!," she hollered. There was a name for what these men wanted to do to her and she knew what it was so she started yelling that as well. "RAPE!" The man slapped her again and the one that was holding her tried to cover her mouth. She bit him so hard that her mouth filled with blood again, but this time it was not hers. The man yelped and let go of her hair. She tried to run but another man grabbed her and threw her down on the ground. She landed hard and twisted her wrist, crying out in pain. Since no one was covering her mouth she started screaming again. Then one of the men kicked her hard, knocking the air out of her and sending her flinging against the trunk of a tree. Then he knelt down and started ripping at her clothes.


	27. Chapter 27

Maria

There was a big crowd of people ouside the back of the bar, watching the fight, or wrestling match, or whatever it was. Maria was too short to see what was going on, and she didn't want to try and elbow through that crowd. So she wandered back through the tent area. A woman was sitting near one of the firepits, washing out some clothes. Maria didn't recognize her, so she must be from Kingdom. The woman gave Maria a friendly smile and Maria smiled back. She continued on, being careful to step over all the ropes that were holding the tents in place.

Alexandria was a lot smaller than Hilltop, so she didn't have to carry her med bag with her all the time. She noticed she kept reaching for it, feeling it wasn't there, and then having a moment of panic before she remembered the infirmary was only a block away. Maria spotted some wildflowers growing along the base of the wall. She walked over and knelt down to pick them. That's when she heard it. It was hard to tell since there was so much noise coming from over behind the bar, but it sounded like someone screaming. Maria stood up and cocked her head, placing her hand on the wall and listening closely. She heard it again, and this time she was sure.

Maria dropped the flowers and ran back towards the crowd. She tripped over a tent rope and had to stop and untangle her ankle. Then she kept going. When she got to the crowd she pushed through, shoving at people hard with her elbows. A few of them called out in surprise or swore at her. Once she got ahold of her dad she grabbed at his arm.

"Outside the wall," she yelled so he could hear her, "Someone is in trouble, I heard them scream." Abraham looked at his daughter's panicked face.

"Everyone shut the fuck up!," he boomed out over the crowd. RickyJo and Michonne let go of each other and stepped back.

"What's going on?," RickyJo asked him.

"Maria heard someone screaming for help outside the walls," he said. Maria nodded.

"It has got to be Sarah," RickyJo said. Sarah usually went out alone to check her traps at this time of the day. Maria watched the woman grab up her knife from where she had tossed it on the ground before the fight. "You know which direction it was coming from?," she asked Maria. Maria nodded and pointed to where she was sure the noise had come from.

"You go over we will go around," Abraham told her. The crowd started to part, people were moving back to let them through.

"RickyJo!," Merle hollered. She turned and he held up a handgun before tossing it to her. Maria watched the woman catch it in her hands before she shoved it in the back of her pants. Then they started running for the wall. The black woman RickyJo had been wrestling around with was with them, and she had a long wicked looking sword strapped to her back. When they hit the wall, the three of the climbed it fast. When she got to the top, Maria could see her dad and a large group of other people heading for the front gate loaded up with guns and bows. It would take them longer to go out and all the way around though.

The girls pushed through the bushes until they got to the path, and then they started walking as quickly and quietly as they could. It wasn't long before they spotted some unfamiliar men standing a few feet off the path. Michonne darted into the woods to circle around the other side of the group. Maria was afraid of what she was about to see. When she heard the screams, she thought someone got chased up a tree by some walkers. That happened sometimes.

RickyJo got her gun out and approached the men. Two of them were on the ground. One of them was holding Sarah's arms down and the other one was unzipping his pants and getting ready to get on top of her. Sarah's shirt was ripped and her pants had been yanked down and tangled up around her boots. She was crying.

"Get the fuck off her right now and maybe I won't kill you," RickyJo told the man. Maria gripped her knife tightly in her sweaty palm and tried not to look as scared as she was. _Stay calm, Dad will be here any second. And then he will beat the dicks off these nasty perverts._ The man stopped what he was doing momentarily. The other men that had been standing around, turned to point their guns at RickyJo and Maria.

"Don't worry sweetheart," the man said, "your turn next." Maria held the loud crack of a gun and then the man was falling backwards, his brains splattered out on the ground behind him. One of the men fired back at RickyJo but as soon as she pulled the trigger she moved to the side, yanking Maria with her. The man that had fired got a funny look on his face and then he coughed and blood flew out of his mouth. Maria looked down to see the long end of Michonne's sword stinking out of the man's chest. The man turned their guns on Michonne, but she kept the man between her and the other men, using him as a human shield.

The loud crack of gunfire had led Abraham's group right to their location and the men soon found themselves surrounded, out gunned and out manned. Plus, the man that was their leader was now dead on the ground. They put down their weapons and held their hands up. Michonne braced her foot on the man's back and yanked her sword out. She let his body thump down on the ground and then stabbed him through the ear to make sure he would be of no further trouble to them. Sarah got her pants untangled and pulled them up. Maria had a tank top on under her shirt, so she pulled her shirt off and handed it to Sarah. She watched the girl pull it on and then she took a few steps and collapsed on her knees next to her dog.

"They hurt Wolf," Sarah cried, "someone please help her." She pulled the dog up into her arms and started crying, rocking the dog back and forth gently. Abraham took charge of dealing with the remaining men. He and Merle got some people surrounding them and started marching them back to town. Maria knelt down by Wolf and Sarah.

"Lay her down Sarah," Maria said, "let me look at her." She felt the dog's side. Wolf was still breathing and her heart was beating. So there was a chance. "She's still alive, what happened to her?"

"That man hit her in the head with a bat," Sarah said, wiping at her face and pointing to the dead man on the ground.

"Was she hit anywhere else, like the side or her ribs?," Maria asked.

"I don't think so," Sarah told her. Everything had happened so fast.

"Then I think its safe to move her and take her to the infirmary." Maria looked up at RickyJo, who nodded and bent down to try and pick the dog up. But before she could, Sarah scooped the dog up herself and headed for the front gates. Maria watched in awe. Sarah was on the tall side of average, but she was thin and slender. Wolf had to weigh almost as much as she did, and Sarah had just had the crap kicked out of her. Maria walked next to her, with RickyJo and Michonne close behind. Maria noticed neither of them tried to stop Sarah or take the dog from her.

Sarah made it all the way into the infirmary, set Wolf on the table and then dropped onto the floor like a heavy bag of sugar. Her eyes rolled back in her head. Rosita and RickyJo went for her.

"Take care of the dog," RickyJo told Maria, "we have got her."

Maria turned and started checking the dog. Wolf was still breathing and her heartbeat was strong. But she was still unconcious. Maria felt her body to check for other injuries. The only one seemed to be to her head, like Sarah said. That one looked bad, the side of Wolf's head was swelling up and she was bleeding from her ear and mouth on that side. Two of her teeth had been knocked out.

Finally the dog started to wake up and started whining softly. Maria pet her and talked to her, telling her it was okay. She gave Wolf something for the pain, putting the pill as far back in her mouth as she could and then rubbing her throat to get her to swallow it. Maria was hoping it was just a concussion, but then the dog went stiff. Then Wolf started seizing. Her body was shaking so hard she almost shook off the table and ended up on the floor. Rosita left Sarah's side and rushed over.

"Keep her on the table," she told her daughter, "I'll get the valium."


	28. Chapter 28

LoriAnn

"Ouch!," Judith yelped and jumped a little, "I think ya got me Sammie." Lori's mom grimaced.

"Sorry honey," she told the girl, "I will try to be more careful." Lori held out the pincushion for her mother so her mother could grab another one. Judith was still planning to get married at the festival in a few days, and Sammie was trying to help make one of her old dresses fit on Judith. But Judith was taller and slimmer through the waist.

"Forget it," Judith said, "I am wearing jeans."

"You can't wear jeans to your wedding," Lori told her. Judith laughed. She called to Rolland, who was lurking around in the hall outside the bedroom.

"Do you care what I wear for the wedding?," she asked him. He poked into the room, ignoring Sammie's glare. She had already told them both it was bad luck for him to see Judith in her dress before the wedding. Neither of them seemed to care. In fact, Judith had informed her that he had already seen a lot more than a dress. He leaned in carefully to avoid touching her in the places the dress was pinned and gave her a lingering kiss.

"You are beautiful in everything you wear," he said, "Why do you wear nothing and we can stay here and have our own ceremony." Lori giggled. She saw her mom was smiling up at the young couple.

"Go on and get out of here," Sammie said as she tried to keep a straight face while she scolded the man, "I have told you and told you. Its bad luck." Rolland laughed and snuck in one more kiss before dashing out of the room. Sammie heard his heavy tread on the steps as he walked downstairs.

"Has MJ been by again?," Sammie asked quietly. Judith shook her head.

"Tell him I need some more flowers," Lori said, "the last ones he brought are looking kind of dried out." Judith laughed. MJ kept bringing her gifts. Flowers mostly, and a necklace. The necklace she had made him take back. The flowers she had let Lori keep to put in her room rather then throwing them away.

"Why don't you have your new boyfriend bring you some flowers?," Judith suggested. If Lori wanted to tease her, she was going to give her some shit right back.

"Boyfriend?," her mom asked, "you have a boyfriend?"

"No," Lori told her.

"That's not what I heard," Judith said, using a little sing song voice. She heard Lori had been sucking some face with one of those pirates. Not that she blamed her. Those guys were hot. Judith had seen some of them walking around behind the bar shirtless with those little shell necklaces on. The one that little slut Jenny had her claws in looked like walking sex on a stick. One thing was for sure, they weren't Hilltop farm boys.

"What is that noise?," Sammie asked. She could hear a lot of yelling and shouting coming from down the road.

"That can't be the wrestling," Lori said, rushing to the window, "they were doing that out behind the bar." What she saw down the road was not a friendly wrestling match. It was her dad with a bunch of other people. They were coming in the front gate and it looked like they had some men held at gunpoint. Lori grabbed her gun out of the top drawer of the dresser and took off down the stairs and out the front door.

When she got over in front of the gate, quite a crowd had formed. Four men were on their knees on the ground and their hands were bound behind their backs. People seemed angry, and some were yelling things at the men on the ground. Lori rushed towards her dad, who was talking to a black woman with a sword.

"What's going on?," she asked.

"These men attacked Sarah outside the walls," he told her.

"Is she okay?," Lori asked.

"Better than her dog," the black woman informed her, "they hit it with a bat." Lori gasped and looked at the men. They looked a little dirty and rough from being on the road, but otherwise normal. Three of them looked older, maybe Dixie's dads age. But one looked like he wasn't much older than her. And something about him seemed familiar. She realized it was his leather vest. Little Lake was know for tanning leather, or at least they had been when there had still been people left alive there. And his vest looked like the type of soft buckskin they were known for. Of course he could have just taken it from there after the town was overrun, but Lori didn't think so. He looked like a town kid, not someone that had been on the road a long time. And he was crying. The other three men looked more like they were waiting to try and make a run for it.

"I never touched her," the young man said, tears and snot streaking down his dirty face.

"You were just waiting for your turn," Dixie's dad hissed at the boy. Then he used the bottom of his boot and gave the kid a hard shove. He fell forward and landed hard on the pavement, cutting the side of his face. People were yelling louder now, and Lori saw a few of them were cheering. Her dad looked like he wasn't sure what to do.

Carl glanced around. This was starting to look less like a crowd and more like a lynch mob. _What would Deanna do if she was here?_ If it was only Alexandrians here, he might think about letting Abraham and Merle beat these men to death right here, like he was sure they wanted to. But he could see a lot of Hilltop and Kingdom people, as well as some of Seaside and a few drifters mixed into the crowd. Alexandria already had a reputation. And beating rapists to death in the street a few days before the summer meeting was not a story he wanted repeated, told and retold all the way across the country. That younger looking guy was sobbing.

"I just wanted to come here because everyone I know is dead," the boy said, little bits of blood slashing out of his mouth onto the pavement in front of him. Carl motioned for Merle to sit the kid back up. Which he did, a little more roughly than was necessary. Carl got down on one knee.

"Where are you from?," he asked the boy.

"Little Lake," the boy said, "my name is Travis." Lori had guessed right. He was from Little Lake. She felt bad for him. If he had been up to no good out in the woods, he sure looked sincerely sorry for it now. But Alexandria had a very intense no tolerance policy against rape. Even if he had not been doing anything, they might kill him for associating with these men just the same.

"What happened?," Carl asked the boy. One of the other men spoke up.

"You fucking narc on us and when I get loose I will fuck you into the dirt kid," the man spat. Lori watched her father stand up. He looked the man over that had spoken up. Then he pulled his gun out of the holster on his leg and pointed it at the man. He waited for the people crowding around to back up. Then he shot him through the head. He looked at the other two men.

"Either of you have anything to add?," he asked. The men looked down at the ground. Carl turned back to the boy. "What happened?"

"My whole family was dead," Travis told him, sucking in his breath in hitching gasps and trying not to look at the way the blood was spreading across the street and getting close to another man's knees. "I was going to come here, to Alexandria. Its the only other place I have ever been. I met those guys," he gestured to the two that were still alive. "They said they would bring me with them if I showed them the way here. I thought they just wanted to find a place to live. I didn't know what they were going to do!" The boys voice got high and squeaky. Lori wasn't sure, but if she had to guess, she would say he was telling the truth. Her dad leaned closer to the boy.

"And what did they do?," he asked.

"One of them hit that dog in the head just like she said," he squeaked, and looked over at Michonne, "then they grabbed that girl and hurt her." Travis was still talking, but he was sobbing so hard, it was hard to understand what he was saying. Carl clapped his hands together in front of the boys face.

"Hey," he said, "look at me and calm down." He waited until the boy had himself under control. Then he spoke again. "Did you try and help her?," he asked. The boy hung his head in shame. Then he shook it from side to side.

"I'm sorry, I was scared," he said, "I just stood there. I am so sorry. Will you tell her I am sorry?" Lori watched her father stand up and walk over to Maria's dad. They talked quietly together. Lori knew once the kid said that, he was in trouble. Rape was a crime in Alexandria, but seeing one and doing nothing to help was a crime too. Its not like they expected him to take on five grown men single handedly, but he could have run back to town and tried to get help. And he just stood there watching instead. He even admitted it.

Carl nodded to Abraham. Then he walked around behind the two older men that were on their knees.

"Rape is a crime here," he told them, "and the punishment is death." One of the men started yelling and hollering. Lori thought the other one looked like he might be praying. Her dad shot the noisy man in the head. The front of his face exploded outwards and he dropped on the ground. Carl took a deep breath. It would be best to get this over with fast. He raised his gun and shot the second man. Now they just had to figure out what to do with the kid. Abraham knelt down in front of him.

"Rape is a crime here," he explained to the boy, "but so is not helping someone in trouble." The boy was staring at the three dead men in front of him and sobbing. Lori knew if her dad executed this kid in front of everyone, it was not going to go over well. But he had broken the law. At the very least, they had to banish him. Cowards were not allowed to stay in Alexandria. Lori felt someone's arm go around her waist. She looked up to see it was Greg, and Andrew was right beside him.

"I got an idea," Andrew said, looking at Carl but nodding his head towards the sobbing boy. Lori saw her father look at Andrew, and then at her and the man that had his hands on her.

"What's that?," Carl asked. At this point he was left with no good decision to make. He would deal with the situation with his daughter later.

"How about I take him back to Seaside with me," Andrew said, "could always use a good pair of hands and a young pair of eyes on my boats." Lori saw a lot of people in the crowd nodding. She liked the idea herself. It was better than shooting a crying kid with wet pants dead in the street.

"You going to take responsibility for him until you leave?," Carl asked. Andrew nodded without hesitation.

"Okay," Carl said, "he's all yours." That seemed to settle the matter. Andrew untied the boy's wrists and took him away. The boy was sobbing like a little girl and holding onto Andrew for dear life. Andrew was patting his back and trying not to get too much snot on him. Lori smiled. Some of the other men started dragging the bodies away and out the front gate.

"You ok?," Greg asked her. Lori nodded and let him pull her into his strong arms, her head resting on his shoulder. Then she heard her father's voice.

"LoriAnn," he said, "I will see you at home." Lori nodded. She guess that meant get your ass home and don't be hanging around here too long. Then her father looked Greg up and down before he walked away.

"You live with that guy?," Greg asked her. He looked nervous. Lori smiled.

"Of course I live with him," she said, "he's my dad."


	29. Chapter 29

Dixie

The dress was heavier than it looked. And you could tell from all the thousands of beads that it was from the old world. Now no one had time to cover an entire dress in glass beads. It had thin straps and it came to her knees with a slit on one side. The back of it was open almost all the way down to her ass and the front came down low enough to show a good amount of cleavage. Dixie had never worn anything that made her feel like this dress did. And she knew it looked good on her, because when her mom stepped back from zipping her up, she looked like she was about to start crying.

Her mother opened up the closet door, so Dixie could have a look in the full length mirror on the back of it. She almost didn't recognize herself, and it made her gasp. Turning around, she got a look at the back of the dress, which was even better looking than the front. It showed the tan skin of her back and hugged her butt in a way that made it look rounder. Her mom pulled her hair up, making a few suggestions about how she should wear it with the dress.

"Where did you get this dress?," Dixie asked her mom. She had never seen it before, so she guessed the woman had traded for it. And it must have been expensive.

"I've been saving it for you honey," her mom told her, "it was my wedding dress." Dixie's eyes lit up.

"Really?," she asked. Her mom nodded.

"I loved it since it showed all my tattoos, but it looks even better on you," she said. Dixie threw her arms around her mother, hugging her tightly. RickyJo held her daughter, trying not to get emotional. She wished she could pick her daughter up in her arms like she no more than a toddler again. But she had been too old for that for a long time. RickyJo had been saving the dress for Dixie until she became a woman. What happened to Sarah earlier made her realize all the girls had grown up right under her nose. Dixie had been a woman for a long time now. And she looked so beautiful, the smooth skin on her back unmarked. Having her children grow up unscarred meant more to RickyJo than anything had ever meant to her in her whole life. And against the odds she had done it. In the middle of the apocalypse her daughter made it to fifteen years old without ever having someone put their hands on her out of anger. Except for the time Maggie slapped her. But she didn't want to think about that.

"Don't cry mom," Dixie said, rubbing her mother's back. She knew her mother was getting emotional about seeing her in the dress, but she guessed it was more than that. Maybe it was some of the things that happened before she was born that no one ever talked about. Like who cut up her mother's face and why. Her mother sucked up her tears, and wiped her eyes with the hem of her shirt. Dixie got the feeling her mother wanted to tell her something, something important. But then she heard her father's voice from the doorway.

"She can't wear that," Daryl said, gesturing emphatically towards his daughter who was wearing a dress that, in his opinion, she was about ten years too young to wear. The crack of her ass was almost hanging out for chrissakes.

"What are you talking about?," RickyJo asked him, "you loved this dress on me."

"Yeah on _you_ I loved it," he remarked. _Because you looked so sexy in it._ And later she had peeled it off for him and had nothing on underneath it but a smile. And the small hard swell of her stomach where Dixie had been growing, still to small for anyone to be able to tell when she was dressed. RickyJo rolled her eyes at him. He guessed that meant his opinion was getting ignored. And he did not like that, not one little bit. No way was his daughter getting up on that stage in that dress for every man in town to gawk at.

"Don't make such a fuss," RickyJo told him, "its just a dress. I think she looks nice."

"She looks like a grown ass woman."

"She is a grown ass woman," RickyJo reminded him. His heart was in the right place. But making Dixie dress like a little girl wasn't going to stop her from growing up.

"She's fifteen years old," Daryl said. RickyJo turned her head so he wouldn't see her smirking. Dixie had a little grin on her face. She wasn't dumb. If he kept going, Dixie knew her mom would just call her other dad upstairs to back her up. That tactic was best reserved as a last resort, however. First a little sweet talking was in order. Dixie tried not to laugh. Just like she knew she would, her mother crossed the room and put her arms up around her father's neck. She kissed him on the cheek and then nuzzled at his neck, pressing against him.

"If you are trying to butter me up," he informed her, "It ain't gonna work." He mother smiled at him and leaned close to whisper into his ear. Dixie couldn't hear what she said, but she saw his eyes get bigger. He looked at Dixie in the dress and then looked at her mother. He raised his eyebrows at RickyJo questioningly. She smiled and gave him a little nod. He pointed at Dixie.

"You can wear whatever ya want as long as you get out of my room right now," he told her. Her mom nodded her head towards the door. She gave Dixie a little wink and it looked like she was trying not to laugh. Dixie grabbed up her things and took off out the door, shutting it behind her and laughing harder once she got to the hallway. Inside she could hear soft rustling noises. And then the familiar creaking noises of her parents' bedframe. She put her things in her room and went downstairs to show off her new dress for anyone else that happened to be down there. The tiger cub woke up and came out of her room, stretching its shoulders and yawning before it followed her downstairs.

Dixie spotted her other dad in the kitchen. When she got close, she could see he was washing blood off his hands and down the sink drain. It scared her at first, but if he was hurt, he would be at the infirmary, not washing his hands in the kitchen.

"Are you okay?," she asked him softly, putting her hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at her and had to do a double take. She looked so much like her mother. And in that dress, it was like someone switched time back. He wasn't expecting to see her looking like that, and it threw him for a moment. It was like seeing RickyJo, but without that haunted, distrustful look she always had. Even when she was young she had already been damaged enough to be distrustful of everyone she met.

"Its not my blood," he told her.

"Did you kill one of them?," she asked, "the men that hurt Sarah."

"Naw, I just helped drag them out of town after they were already dead." He paused, not sure of how much to tell her. "Carl shot them, except a kid that was with them. Yer cousin's friend offered to take that one back to Seaside with him." This seemed to satisfy her and she nodded, nodding and excepting that a few people had just been executed that same way she excepted being told what was for breakfast. At least she wasn't starting in with Dixie's twenty questions.

Merle looked his daughter up and down and then motioned for her to turn around and show him the dress, something she was clearly dying to do. "Look real pretty honey," he told her. Really she looked like a very very expensive underage call girl. The kind they put on the advertisements in the backs of dirty magazines to convince you to call and give them your credit card information. But he decided it would be better if he kept that opinion to himself. Her little tiger cub was meowing in front of the fridge. Merle made a few clicking noises with his tounge to call the tiger cub and gave the little fellow a scratch behind the ears.

"Thanks dad," Dixie told him, leaning in and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek.

"Better go on and put yer party dress away before ya get something on it," he suggested. Dixie jumped back and looked down, examining the dress with some distress to make sure nothing had already gotten on it. Then she darted for the stairs. Dixie thundered up the stairs, taking them two at a time the way she and her brother always did. The contradiction between the dress she was wearing and how she was running in the house made Merle laugh. It was her age, she seemed like a grown woman one second and went back to acting like she was a kid a few minutes later.

Sarah and her dog were still in the infirmary. Mostly because Wolf was still having some swelling in her head, and Sarah was refusing to leave without her dog. So Dixie and her mom fixed dinner for everyone down at the bar and then took dinner over to the infirmary for each of them. A bowl of soft meat and broth for wolf, and a plate of pulled pork with some biscuits and coleslaw for Sarah. They mixed some medicine into the meat for Wolf to take and the dog happily slopped it all down and then curled back up next to Sarah and went to sleep.

Dixie sat on the edge of the bed, stroking the dog and trying not to stare at the bruises and the angry red swelling on the side of Sarah's face. Dixie had seen people hurt before. It seemed like her brother cut, bruised, or broke something every other week for their entire childhood. But Sarah didn't fall out of a tree. Someone did this to her. On purpose. To hurt her. And not because they were angry or crazy, like Glenna's mom, but because they found pleasure in someone else's pain. Dixie watched her mom sit down on the other side of the bed and take Sarah's hand in hers.

"Not that you are feeling a little better," her mom told Sarah, "I need to ask you something." Sarah nodded for her to continue. "Did anything _happen_ before we got there?"

"You mean like did they rape me?," Sarah asked bluntly. RickyJo nodded. "No, they didn't," Sarah said.

"There is a tea I could make you to be sure you wouldn't get pregnant," RickyJo quietly informed the girl, "but you would need to drink it soon." Sarah looked down at her dog. She stroked Wolf down the back of the head where the bandages didn't cover her, smothing her fur down. Her fur was soft there, not like the coarse fluffy hair on her back. When she looked up there were tears in her eyes.

"Did you make it for my mom?," Sarah asked.

"No." RickyJo took the girl's hand back off the dog and held it between the two of hers.

"Why, because it was already too late?," Sarah asked. Dixie watched her mom lean forward and pull Sarah into her arms. Sarah's tears started coming and she hugged RickyJo back hard, crying into her shoulder.

"Because she wanted you," RickyJo told the girl, "you have to know she wanted you." Sarah really started crying. Dixie was sure she hadn't seen the girl cry since they were kids. And it made her own eyes fill up. When she blinked, the salty drops fell down onto Sarah's sleeping dog.

"Dixie?," her mother asked, "would you go back to the bar and let your fathers know I will be just a little while longer?" Dixie nodded. She understood her mother wanted to speak privately with Sarah. That was the real reason she was telling her to leave. Dixie thought about objecting, but it wouldn't be very polite to make a stink in front of Sarah when she was already so upset. So she hugged her friend tightly and left.

On the walk back to the bar she felt herself getting angrier and angrier. Pissed at the men that had hurt Sarah. Angry at whoever had hurt her mother. And fuming mad at the man that was lurking outside their home and scaring her friends. The men that hurt Sarah were already dead. And whoever hurt her mother was long gone. There was nothing she could do about any of that. But that walker loving freak was still out there. And she could stop him. She decided she was going to kill him. Tonight.

Once eveyone in her house was asleep in their rooms, or otherwise occupied, Dixie threw her covers off. She moved silently. Her pants and socks were already on, and she pulled on her boots. Miss Kitty looked up from her comfy spot on top of the tiger cub and gave Dixie a little kitty meow.

"Ssshh," Dixie told her. Then she strapped on her bow and tucked her big knife inside her boot. She would get a gun and a flashlight from downstairs. Dixie snuck down the hall, avoiding the spots where she knew the floor would creak. She had snuck out plenty of times before. But always with her brother. Never alone. She had thought about asking MJ to come with her. But she wasn't sure if he would believe her about the man that could control walkers. And she didn't want to put him in danger. This was something she had to do alone.

Dixie swung the gun safe open. She had unlocked it earlier so she could get into it without anyone hearing her. She took a hunting rifle and a handgun. Then she swung the safe shut, sucking her breath in when it closed with a soft clink. She took a bottle of water from the fridge and stuffed it into the small bag that held her extra arrows. Then it was out the back door and down into the soft grass. She stayed behind the houses on her block, so no one would see her if they were outside. Sticking close to the wall she headed around and out behind the camping area behind the bar. There were a few fires and some people were sitting around them laughing and talking. None of them paid any attention to Dixie.

The hunting trail was easiest to find from the front gate, but she couldn't go that way. She she hiked it over the fence. When she swung her leg over the top, the rifle swung down off her shoulder and hit the metal wall with a loud clang. A few people by the fires were startled by the noise and one or two jumped up. Dixie quickly scrambled down the other side of the wall and hid behind a tree. No one came peeping over the wall, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

She didn't want to turn her flashlight on yet, especially after she just made that loud racket. She she dashed along the outside of the wall, and around to where she could see the bell tower. The hunting trail she had taken with Sarah and Maria started right behind it.

This was the spot Dixie knew she was most likely to be seen by someone. There were big flood lights coming off the top of the wall right near the front gate. She darted around, staying out of the direct light, and then took off quickly down the game trail. When she was sure she was far enough into the woods that no one would see her, she pulled her flashlight out and turned it on, shining it down the path in front of her.

She walked a while before she found the spot Sarah had seen the man. It was harder to find her way in the dark. But the three girls and one big dog had trampled a pretty good path back to that big drainage pipe they had found. She could follow the trail if she paid attention. Once or twice she was sure she heard footsteps behind her. She turned and shined the light all around, but saw nothing. _You are getting jumpy, hearing things that aren't even there._ Just in case she turned once and walked back the way she came, but there was no one there.

The smell of the woods started to change. It was getting wet and musty. So she knew she was getting close to that big patch of stagnant water. Dixie turned her light off and walked slowly, letting her eyes adjust to the moonlight shining through the breaks in the trees. Then she moved forward, trying to stay hidden in case the man happened to be coming or going from his hidey hole. Wait until I find that fucker, she thought. She got her handgun out and made sure the safety was off. Then she stepped through the woods and out into the clearing around the pool of water. Normally there would be crickets singing and frogs burping out their frog songs. But nothing was living here in this cesspool of death and mildew stink.

She walked around the edge of the water, trying not to get any of it on her boots. When she got to the bushes that she knew hid the drain pipe, she yanked them down quickly and jumped back with her gun up. Nothing came falling out this time. She turned her flashlight back on and shined it into the pipe. It looked like it went on forever, the tube getting smaller as it got further away. Dixie took a deep breath. _You came all this way, don't be a turkey now._ Then she gripped the top of the pipe and swung herself up inside. Her heart was beating so hard, she had to hold her chest and get control of her breathing. Someone about this place just smelled wrong. Like death and old rotten meat, and mold and blood. It smelled evil. She held her gun and flashlight so that she was aiming at where the beam of light was shining. Then she went against every instinct in her body and headed down deeper into the tunnel.


	30. Chapter 30

Jenny

When Andrew and Greg entered the angry crowd that had formed, Jenny gasped a little. She kept a close eye on them from in front of the bar. Jenny tasted the hot peppers she had been picking earlier and realized she was biting at her fingernails. She put her hand down and crammed it into her pocket. Unlike Andrew and Greg, she knew that the men were going to be shot. Most communities would banish people who broke the law. But in Alexandria they killed them. Especially rapists. Jenny flinched when the first gunshot went off. Andrew had stood next to her and watched, until it looked like that crying kid might get shot. Then he went over. Jenny was scared for him. And for herself. If he stepped in a disagreed with what Carl wanted to do, he might be invited to leave and go back to Seaside. And Jenny would not be likely see him again. Ever. At least now she could tell herself he might be back next summer.

But that didn't happen. Not only did no one get angry at Andrew, he returned with Greg walking the former prisoner along between them. Jenny followed them back behind the bar to the area where Seaside had their tents set up. She thought it might be exciting to see what a would be rapist might do. But all the kid did was cry and whine. And he smelled like piss. Andrew cleaned up the cut on the boy's head from where it hit the pavement. Then he got the kid something to drink and told him firmly not to leave the area he was in without permission. He had a hard time not laughing at Jenny, who was staring at the kid like he was some kind of old world zoo animal. It was a good thing she bored easily.

"I remember you," Jenny said to the boy, "you came here with your dad a year or two ago, didn't you?" Travis nodded. The way the girl was staring at him was making him nervous.

"Ye..Ye.. Yes," the boy said.

"What's yer name?," Jenny asked him.

"Travis." Jenny shrugged. She had thought it started with a T. And she did remember him now. He had been following Dixie around like a dumb goat. And his dad had tried talking up Uncle Daryl about some kind of arranged marriage. That had gone over about as good as a turd in the kitchen sink. Jenny hopped up. Travis flinched a little and she rolled her eyes at him.

"Where you going?," Andrew asked her. Jenny cocked her hand up on her hip, and wrinkled up her nose at him.

"Somewhere it doesn't smell like pee," she informed him. Andrew laughed before he could stop himself. He shook his head and watched her saunter away, her hips swaying as she walked. She would make a fine sailor. And if he had anything to say about it, she would be learning the ropes with him back at Seaside before the summer was over. He could tell she liked him more than she wanted to admit, but it was going to take some more convincing on his part before she would be willing to come home with him.

Jenny headed over to her sister's house to pick up her dress. And it had really turned out beautiful. Desiree had done such a nice job with it, Jenny was glad she had asked her sister to make her a dress instead of Sarah's mom. Jenny tried it on one last time so Des could make sure it didn't need anymore adjustments. Then she changed back into her regular clothes and walked home to put it away.

No one was at home. Which wasn't a surprise with all the commotion going on out in front of the bar. But she found another dress laid out on her bed. From the size of it, Jenny guessed it had to be the one her mom said she was going to get out for Glenna. Jenny hung her dress up and sat down on the floor. She spent a few minutes petting her cat.

"Miss pretty kitty," she said in the high little voice that always got the kitten's attention, "have you been missing me?" The little cat purred and purred, rubbing itself against her legs and leaning into her hand while she stroked it. Then she heard another meow from the doorway. "Hi baby," she said to the tiger cub, "you want some lovings too?" The tiger walked over, more timid than Miss Kitty. But once she gave it a few good pets, the cub relaxed. Maybe she should have had an affair with the leader of the kingdom instead, Jenny thought with a smirk. She might like a baby tiger for a pet. Then she looked over at the shell necklace hanging on the big mirror behind her vanity. Sleeping with Andrew was better than a pet tiger.

Jenny got up. The tiger followed her, bumping into her legs with it's head. She tried shooing it away and found that getting the cub to leave her alone was much harder than making friends with it had been. Finally she picked it up and carried the big baby to the bed Dixie had made for it in her room. Then she went back to her room and folded up the dress her mother left out for Glenna. The festival was coming up quick, so she decided now was a good a time as any to find Glenna and give her the dress.

Jenny checked Glenna's house first. No one was there. Or no one was answering the door. So she checked the new library and came up empty again. She didn't think Glenna would be down at the bar, but it was the only other place she could think to look. MJ was out in the street, helping his dad drag one of the dead men out the front gates.

"Hey Jenny," he called to her, "why don't you give us a hand." Jenny looked at him like he had just asked her to eat dog shit.

"I didn't shoot him," she announced. "And if I had, I would have made him walk himself outside the walls and shot him out there instead of making such a big ass mess in the middle of the street." Merle dropped the leg of the man he and MJ were dragging and started laughing. Jenny did have a point.

"Maybe you should suggest that to Carl at the next town meeting," Merle told her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Why are you helping?," she asked MJ.

"Cause Carl said if I helped I could have first pick of the knives they had on 'em," MJ announced rather loudly. Melre elbowed him. The fact that they were ransacking dead corpses was not really something that needed to be advertised to everyone that was visiting from out of town. MJ ignored his father and whipped out a huge wicked looking hunting knife from inside his boot. "Check this out!" Jenny shrugged. It looked just like every other stupid knife he had. Hers had a spike and brass knuckles on the end of it. It had belonged to someone her Uncle Daryl knew once and she had never seen another one like it.

"Nice," Jenny told him, even though she didn't think so. If he was going to lower himself to speak to her again, she figured she ought to at least make an effort to be nice. "Have you seen Glenna?," she asked. For some reason she had a feeling MJ knew where the girl was. They had been hanging around together a lot lately. Seeing them together was kind of strange, but also seemed right in a weird way. Glenna was so calm and grounded. So much different from Judith, who was usually trying to outdo MJ at whatever stupid stunt he had in mind.

"She's up in the radio booth with Hershel," MJ said, "I told her you had a dress for her." Merle turned to look at his son. Since when did the boy take any interest in girl's dresses. He could barely dress himself. "Is that it there?," MJ asked. Jenny nodded. She shook it and held it out for him to see, then folded it back over her arm.

"Quit playing around MJ," Merle told the boy. MJ nodded. They did need to get these bodies out of here. Seeing them lying around made people uncomfortable. He shoved the knife back in his boot and got a good grip on the dead man's leg before he started pulling.

Jenny walked out the front gate. She really should have taken a gun or a bow with her. That was the rule. But there were plenty of people milling around out there who were armed. And she was only going to the radio booth, not all the way out to the lake. Jenny opened the door to the bell tower and shut it behind her. She could hear Glenna and Hershel's voices carrying down from the booth.

When Jenny got halfway up the stairs, she could start to make out what they were saying. And the conversation they were having sounded strange. Amulets and magic spells. Getting Lori to make charms for everyone. What kind of crap had the two of them been smoking out in this tower? Jenny wanted to hear more of what they were saying so she switched into hunting mode. Just because she didn't like to go hunting, didn't mean she didn't know how. And moving silently was the first thing you had to learn. She got up on the balls of her feet and crept the rest of the way up the stairs, ducking down and sitting right outside the booth where she would be able to hear everything they were saying.

"Do you think its only one man?," Hershel asked. Jenny heard Glenna suck in her breath.

"If its a whole group of people that can control the walkers we are really in trouble," Glenna answered. Now it was Jenny's turn to gasp. She had convinced herself what she had seen out in the woods was some kind of nightmare or hallucination. There were mushrooms that could make you see things if you ate them. She had told herself that maybe she had rolled on one when she had been having sex with that man in the field. Jenny didn't even want to consider that what she had seen might have been real. Her heart was beating hard in her chest and her lungs felt tight, like someone was squeezing her hard around the chest. If that walker thing had gotten ahold of her... She felt like she might be sick.

"Jenny?," Hershel said, "what are you doing out here? Are you alright?" She looked ashen, like all the blood had drained out of her face. He wondered how long she had been sitting out there listening to him and Glenna talk. She looked horrified. Glenna peeked out the door behind him. Then she was pushing past him and helping Jenny up onto her feet. She led her inside the small booth and sat her down in a chair.

"What did you see?," Glenna asked her. The question confused Hershel for a moment. Then he picked up on what must be going on. Glenna was smart, a lot smarter than she gave herself credit for. They had not been saying anything that would cause Jenny to be this upset. Most people would have laughed at them and told them how crazy they were, if they heard them. So if Jenny was this quick to believe them, and if she was this upset, it must be because she had seen something herself. And by the looks of her she had seen something terrible.

"I... I don't know," Jenny said. She was clutching the dress to her chest, trying to remember to breathe in and out slowly before she made herself pass out.

"A walker waved at me and climbed a ladder to get to me," Glenna told her. Then she looked at Hershel. He was standing next to her chair so she elbowed him a little in the side.

"Oh," he said, "I saw one turn a cartwheel and wave at me." Jenny looked back and forth between them, studying their faces. They did not look like they were joking. Hershel lowered himself down on the floor and sat next to Glenna's chair, his arms resting on his knees. He looked up at her with his big blue eyes, one blonde curl falling down into his face.

"Tell us what you saw," he told Jenny. She shook her head. The part about the walker was bad enough, but explaining what she had been doing before was more embarrassing. The color started to return to her face and she looked down at her feet. She shook her head. Saying it would be like admitting that it really happened.

"Where you doing _something_ when it happened?," Glenna asked her gently. _Something or someone?_ Jenny swallowed hard and nodded.

"It's okay," Hershel said, "just tell us what happened."

"I was out with that guy," Jenny started.

"The guy from Seaside?," Glenna asked. Jenny shook her head and looked down again.

"No, a diffferent guy."

"We don't care about that," Hershel assured her, "go ahead." Jenny took a deep breath.

"Well we were... you know." She looked at Glenna to be sure the girl knew what she was implying. Glenna nodded. "And when I opened my eyes, he was a walker. Like a really bad one. With one eye hanging out of the socket." Glenna felt herself shudder.

"What did you do?," Glenna asked.

"I screamed like crazy and ran," Jenny said, "what do ya think?" This brought a smile to Glenna's face. She would have done the same thing. And maybe peed her pants too.

"What happened next?," Hershel asked.

"I ran down by the creek." Jenny could feel her voice start to crack. "Then I saw it. The same walker. The one with the eye hanging out." She was breathing hard and fast. Jenny felt Glenna's hand on hers and she took it, squeezing it tightly. "It took it's thing out and shook it at me." That made Glenna feel sick. She had never seen a thing and seeing a walker thing would be about the most disgusting thing she could imagine.

"Did you kill it?," Hershel asked.

"No that guy that I was... you know. He came and killed it. He thought I ran away because he was hurting me. So I lied and told him a bee stung me," Jenny finished.

"Get that book," Hershel told Glenna, "the one with the mask picture." Glenna rooted through a pile of books on the floor until she found the one she wanted. Then she opened it to the marked page and showed it to Jenny. It was a picture of someone in a weird looking mask.

"When it happened," Hershel asked, "you see anyone around wearing a mask like that?" Jenny shook her head. She hadn't seen anyone except the man she had been fucking and that walker.

"Why?," she asked.

"We think he is the one controlling the walkers," Glenna explained.

"The walker wasn't doing that on its own?," Jenny asked. She thought back to what happened, trying to remember but not really wanting to. The jerky way the walker had been moving. Like a puppet on strings. And it had come at her, but it's one good eye had still been dead and mindless looking.

"We don't think so," Glenna said.

"How could someone control the walkers?," Jenny asked. She knew it was easy to trick them. You could disguise your smell, keep a walker with you on a leash. Make noise in another area to distract them. Or just kill them. But she had never heard of someone getting one to do what they wanted it to do.

"We think whoever is doing it is using magic," Glenna said. She didn't sound sure.

"Magic?," Jenny asked. She raised one of her eyebrows and looked at the girl. This wasn't Lord of the fucking Rings or some other stupid book.

"You got a better explanation?," Hershel asked her. If she did he would love to hear it. Jenny shook her head. Glenna opened up the book and showed her the mask picture again.

"I saw a man dressed like this in the woods. It says in this book he is some kind of evil voodoo priest and he can control the dead," Glenna said. Jenny took the book, turning it over in her hands.

"It said all that in a book?," she asked. _Maybe I should read more._ Her dad liked to read, and so did her Uncle Merle. MJ would pick up the books they left laying around up to his room and read them. But Jenny had never really found one that interested her. And looking at the small print gave her a headache. Glenna nodded. She could tell by the way Jenny was looking at the book that she was starting to believe them.

"Well, magic huh?," Jenny said, "what are we going to do about it then?"


	31. Chapter 31

Hershel

Flipping the switch that turned the night playlist on made Hershel smile. For some reason that he would never understand, he found the noise the little metal flip switch made to be very satisfying. The ping noise the jars made when his mom was canning was a close second, especially since you had to wait for it. He took his knife down from on top of the tall cabinet that held an endless number of CDs and hooked it back onto his belt loop. Then he took his gun down. Usually he shoved it in his holster for the short walk back inside the walls, but since what happened to Glenna in that tree stand, he kept it in his hand with the safety off.

It was already dark outside. He usually went home arounnd dinner time, but he had stayed later than normal today. Jenny knew what was going on now, and she had asked him what they were planning to do about the man in the woods. And he had not had a good answer for her. That had bothered Hershel. A lot. So he stayed in the booth to think on it a while. The music playing in the background always helped him think.

Glenna's idea of making the amulets wasn't a bad one. But really, they should hunt the man down instead of waiting for him to make a move on them. That's what his dad would do. The problem was, tracking and hunting were not Hershel's strongest areas of expertise. He could shoot a gun. Everyone could, except Glenna. But he hated killing animals, so he had never been one to do a lot of hunting. If he was starving and he had to hunt to feed himself, he was sure he could go out and get something. But he was not a good tracker. And Jenny wasn't any better. She was great at fishing, but had never been interested in hunting. Glenna was obviously going to be of no help in that area. What they needed was someone that was good at hunting and tracking to help them. But who and how to get them to help was a problem.

First he thought about MJ. MJ was always up for an adventure, but he would never believe them about the magic man controlling walkers. And he might think it was all a big funny joke and tell everyone about it. Sarah was a good tracker, but she was in the infirmary. That left Dixie. And Hershel felt like he might die if he made Dixie think he was crazy. Maybe he could get Jenny to talk to her for him. But there was something else nagging at his mind. If Dixie believed them, and agreed to help, that might put her in a lot of danger. And that sounded even worse to Hershel than getting laughed at. If anything happened to Dixie because he asked her to help him, it would make him want to die. He had thought about everything for hours and was no closer to a solution. Finally he decided to go home and sleep on it. Sometimes a good nights rest made things seem more clear.

Hershel was coming down the steps when he saw someone run past the area that was lit by the flood lights. It startled him, but his reflex was to spring into action. He darted quietly out the door and in the direction the figure had gone, his gun drawn. The moon was almost full and enough light was filtering down through the trees that at least he could see where he was going. He was careful to stay back and walk quietly. It might be another man that was with the group that hurt Sarah, and if it was, Hershel didn't want the man to get away.

After a few more yards, the person clicked on a flashlight and Hershel could see that it was not a man at all. It was a girl, and once she started walking, he could tell from the way her long ponytail was swinging that it was Dixie. Hershel felt a surge of anger rise up inside of him. For some reason, he was sure she must be going to meet a man. Why else would Dixie be out in the woods in the middle of the night? Well he would see about that. Any man that was telling Dixie to sneak out into the woods at night and put herself in danger, was going to see the business end of his fucking Remington.

The popular makeout spots that people liked to meet up in were out by the lake or sometimes near one of the big tree stands. So that's where Hershel guessed Dixie was going. He had never met a girl out there, but he knew MJ and Judith used to go, back when they were still on speaking terms. And he knew that even his parents had been out to the lake together a few times, looking for a little privacy. But Dixie did not walk that way. She passed by the path that would have taken them towards the lake and the big tree stand and continued deeper into the woods. He thought about calling out to her, but he also really wanted to know what she was up to out here. So he continued to follow her. A few times she turned around with her light and he had to slide behind a tree or duck down behind a bush to keep from being seen.

Hershel was starting to get scared. They were going way too far away from town. And they were off the main trail now. Hershel did not have a flashlight with him, and if he lost sight of Dixie, he wasn't sure he would be able to find his way back by himself. And he had no flare with him, so no way to signal back to town if they got into trouble. And from the sneaky way she was acting, he guessed no one knew they were out here either. And his parents usually didn't wait up for him when he was at the radio booth. So no one would be looking for him until the next morning.

He could see there was more light up ahead, so the woods must be opening up into some kind of clearing. He had never come out this way before. But something up ahead was really starting to stink. And the smell made him want to turn around and run back home. He couldn't place it, but it made him think of rotting walkers and the way fish smelled when they were dead for too long. Dixie turned and he could see her walking down the edge of the woods, her light was off but her silhouette was flashing through the breaks in the trees. Hershel knew if he left the cover of the woods, she would see him. But he didn't want to let the girl get too far away.

Her light flashed back on for a moment and then suddenly she was gone. Hershel charged out of the brush, almost running headfirst into a bog of the most dark smelly disgusting water he had ever seen. He backed up and looked around in a panic for Dixie. She had been right there, where the hell could she have gone so quick? He walked along the edge of the woods the way he had seen her go. When he followed the curve around, he saw a huge metal pipe sticking out of the side of a hill. A tiny bit of water was trickling out of it, feeding into the nasty bog. _No fucking way she went in there, no one could be that stupid._ Hershel was scared to even look inside the pipe. But he forced himself forward, his gun up. When he peeked around the edge, he saw Dixie's light getting smaller and smaller, disappearing further into the long tunnel.

Hershel stood at the opening, debating what to do next. He felt the song urge to follow Dixie, but he was also scared to go inside the large tube. More scared than he had ever been of anything in his life. It was not only the fear of being deep underground and getting buried alive, but also something about the smell of the place. It was even worse than the smell of the foul water outside. But her light was getting harder to see. And then it was swirling, shining out in his direction and then up before dropping on the ground. That's when he heard Dixie start to scream.

She was heading down the pipe, the smell getting worse and worse and finally so bad that Dixie had to pull her shirt up and cover her face. So far there had been no twists or turns, no decisions to make, just her and the long straight tunnel and the smell. She had her gun and flashlight up. And then there was an opening to her right. Another pipe. This one was not as wide as the one she was walking in. She turned to shine her light down the pipe and get a look. And that's when the walker dropped down from above her. It landed on her, knocking her to the ground and sending her flashlight and gun flying up into the air. She was struggling with the thing, trying to keep it's teeth away from her.

Walker bones were more brittle than regular people's. If you pushed up hard enough under their chins, you could snap their heads back and get away. Her daddy Daryl had taught her that. But this walker was not having it. Instead of swiping and scratching at her blindly, the walker wrapped his hands around her throat and started to squeeze. She struggled for air. In a last ditch effort she brought her knee up hard into the thing's crotch. Her mom had taught her that move. But the fucking thing didn't even flinch. Dixie was starting to see little black spots swim in front of her eyes. And then there was a loud boom. It echoed off the walls and hurt her ears. When she looked up the walker's head was in pieces. She could feel the wet blood that had splattered down onto her face. She shoved at the thing hard, ripping it's hands away from her throat. Then someone was pulling her up and away from it. Dixie turned to swing at the new threat, but Hershel caught her by the forearm before she could hit him.

"It's me," he said, "It's alright." Then he took her hand and ran back the way he came, pulling Dixie along with him. He jumped down out of the tube, breathing easier once his feet were back on the grass. Then he caught Dixie by the waist and lifted her down so she stood next to him.

"Did it get you!? Did it bite you?," he asked, trying to check to make sure all the blood on her belonged to the walker.

"No," she said, "It didn't get me." Hershel pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight against his chest. He started to ask her what the hell she had been doing. But then he heard a sickening laugh echoing out of the metal pipe. The sound of it made his skin prickle up into what his mother called goose pimples. And then there was a more subtle noise. It sounded like a hundred rats scrabbling in the same direction at once. Hershel almost felt like he could feel it more than he could hear it. Dixie looked at him, her eyes getting wider and wider with fear. She didn't have to say anything, they both just started running. Hershel let Dixie get in front of him, partly so he could see her, but also because she knew the way. He ran faster than he had ever run before in his life. They made it back to the bell tower in about a third of the time it had taken them to get out there. Once they were inside, Hershel slammed the door behind them and then shut the thick metal safety door he hardly ever used. He locked it and leaned back against the wall to catch his breath.

Dixie got a bottle of water of of her bag, which had not come of her back during the struggle. Dropping her bag and bow on the floor, she took a long drink before handing the rest of the water to Hershel. Then she started laughing. Whenever she and her brother got out of whatever crazy situations they got themselves into, they always laughed about it afterwards. It wasn't that the situation had been funny, but more like the exuberant feeling of still being alive. Hershel drank the water and looked at Dixie. She was laughing. Fucking laughing like this had all been a big joke. He had almost lost her. There was nothing humorous about any of this. Nothing.

Before he could stop himself he grabbed her hard by the shoulders and pushed her against the wall. Then he slammed his hand into the wall next to her head, slapping it with his open palm. He was so close to her that she had to tilt her head up slightly to look at his face.

"WHAT IN THE FUCK WHERE YOU DOING OUT THERE?," he raged at her, "THIS ISN'T FUNNY YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!" Dixie had jumped a little when he hit the wall. The yelling didn't really scare her. People yelled a lot in her house. But the intense way Hershel was looking at her, his eyebrows pressed together, eyes narrowed. That made her feel funny inside. Her hands were on his chest, but she wasn't pushing him back. When she spoke it sounded like her voice was coming from far away.

"Why do you care what happens to me?," she asked. He was breathing hard, looking down at her face. The soft sound of her voice took the anger out of him. Why did he care so much what happened to her? Hershel thought about it. There was only one reason.

"Because I love you," he told her. Once the words were out he thought he would regret it, or be embarrassed. But he wasn't. He felt her arms go up around his neck and then her body was pressed close to his. She bumped into his face at first but then she found his mouth with hers. Her lips were soft and he kissed her back, wrapping his arms around her waist. She parted her lips and slipped the tip of her tounge out, unsure of exactly what to do with it, but knowing she wanted to get a taste of him. Forgetting all her thoughts about boys being gross and how she never wanted a boyfriend, Dixie closed her eyes and let the adrenaline from the fight and her hormones take over. She didn't know what to do but her body knew what she wanted.

As soon as he felt her tounge touch his lips, Hershel felt all the blood rush down into his groin. He pushed her lips wider apart with his tounge, tasting the inside of her mouth and tangling his tounge up with hers. She moaned softly into his mouth, holding him tighter. There was a room in the downstairs part of the bell tower. A bunch of bug out emergency bags and boxes were stacked up against one wall. But there was also an old army cot in there. Nobody used it much anymore, but there was a time when people stayed together in the tower and took turns keeping night watch over the town while everyone slept. Hershel pulled her towards the door, grabbing at the door knob, his mouth never leaving hers. When he almost tripped over the cot, he finally let go of her and groped around looking for the small lamp he knew was sitting on a little table at the other end of the cot. He found it and flicked the light on, grateful that the light was dim and not like the big spotlight outside.

Dixie wasn't sure what to do, so she sat down on the cot, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Once the light was on, Hershel could see she was still covered in splatters of walkers blood. He got one of the kits out and poked around until he found a small sealed container of wet wipes that he knew was inside. He ripped the plastic off and opened the box, pulling out a few of the thin damp cloths. He handed them to Dixie, who looked at them and looked back at him questioningly.

"Blood from that walker," he said.

"Oh," she exclaimed, giggling a little. She had thought this was some kind of weird sex thing that she didn't understand. Like her mom making a big deal over how she just showered up before she went upstairs with Dixie's dads. Dixie wiped up her face and neck, then wiped at her arms and the tops of her breasts.

"Did I get it all?," she asked. Hershel nodded and took the dirty wipes from her, tossing them outside the door into the stairwell and then shutting the door again. He sat down next to her, shifting his weight around, and feeling nervous again when he had been so confident a few moments before. It's Dixie, he reminded himself, if she didn't want to be here with you, she would leave. He put his arm around her, scooting closer. Now the outside of his thigh was touching hers. She put her hand on his thigh, rubbing it softly back and forth. This made him think about the throbbing sensation he was feeling inside his pants, which he was trying hard not to think about.

When he leaned in to kiss her she met him halfway. The awkward shuffle happened again, but then they were kissing. And kissing and kissing. He pulled Dixie down onto the cot with him so they were lying side by side without ever taking his mouth off hers. And then she kissed down the line of his jaw, finding the soft skin of his neck and sucking at it. He rolled so he was on top of her, and they ground their bodies together through their clothes.

Dixie pulled her knees up a little and the feeling of him, hard and pressing against her through her jeans made her breasts tingle. She opened her legs wider, closing her eyes again and feeling up inside the back of Hershel's shirt with her hands. He was kissing her neck and behind her ear and it felt so good. Better than swimming in the lake on a really hot day, better than a hot shower, better than anything that had ever happened to her before.

He slid his hand up under her shirt, reaching for her breasts and getting a hanful of her bra. First he tried putting his hand under it, which didn't work. So he pulled his hand back out. _How in the hell do girls get these damn things on and off?_ He pulled her top and bra down until her nipple was showing and then he took it into his mouth, sucking gently. Her hips rose up and pressed hard against him and she made another one of those soft moaning noises. He was hoping that meant she liked what he was doing, so he pulled the other side of her shirt down and sucked at her other nipple. Her skin tasted like salted honey and her nipples got hard when he sucked at them. It was making him press harder against her, wishing there was no so much fabric between the part of him that was hard and the part of her that he wanted to be inside of.

Then he felt her hands come up, pushing him off her and standing up. He rolled onto his side, bumping into the wall with his elbow and grunting in pain.

"You okay," Dixie asked him, trying not to laugh. Hershel rubbbed at his elbow and nodded.

"Where are you going?," he asked her.

"No where," she said. Then she started unbuttoning her pants.

"What are you doing?," he asked. It was on the tip of her tounge to say _my laundry, what the fuck do you think,_ but she checked herself. This was not really a good time for teasing and joking.

"Taking my clothes off," she told him. Dixie didn't know much about sex, but she knew it wasn't easy to have it while you were fully dressed. "Take yours off," she said, pointing to his pants in particular. "And turn around, don't look at me while I am undressing." The last part almost made him start laughing. But if Dixie wanted to take her clothes off for him, he was pretty much willing to do just about anything she told him to do. He stood up and turned his back about halfway away from her. That way he could still look at her but turn away quick if she caught him peeking.

Dixie pulled her shirt off and reached behind her back to unhook her bra. She tossed that on the floor along with her shirt and kicked her boots and socks off. She had a knife strapped to her ankle, so she pulled that off and then unzipped her jeans and pushed them down, her underwear tangled up inside them. Grasping the elastic band that was holding it up, she pulled her ponytail down and let her hair fall down her back. She shook it out and pulled her long hair forward over her shoulders.

When she turned around, Hershel was staring at her. She smiled, feeling her face get hot. And he was naked. She looked at his dick, looked down, looked at it again, and then tried looking at his face. She was naked from her bare feet up. Her legs curved up into her small hips and then her waist dipped in. Her hair hung forward like a curtain, covering her breasts and falling to just above her belly button. Hershel stared at her for just a second before he closed the space between them. The first thing he did was push her hair back so it fell down her back. Then he pulled her against him. She felt him, pressing hard against her the smooth tan skin of her stomach. And then he was lifting her up into his arms, making her squeak out in surprise. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck before he set her down gently on the cot.

Hershel set her down and lay down next to her, still not really believing what was happening. He had thought about this moment so many times in his mind. But in his mind there was not a real girl in front of him. And real girls, unlike imaginary ones, had real feelings and real needs. He was excited and nervous and maybe even a little scared. Maybe more than a little. He put his hand on the curve of her hip and kissed her. They kissed softly at first. But soon they were grabbing at each other and kissing with their mouthes open like they had been with their clothes on.

Hershel moved his hand up her hip, and over the dip of her waist until he had her breast in his hand. It was soft and warm, but heavier than it looked. He slid down, burying his face into her cleavage and then kissing her all over her breasts. He kissed the tops of them, along the sides, the full undersides where the skin was the palest and the softest. She rolled onto her back, putting her hands up over her head and closing her eyes again. He sucked at her nipples until he heard her start to make the soft little noises she had been making earlier. Then he moved back up and kissed her on the mouth again. She brought her arms back down from above her head, touching his back and grabbing at his arms and shoulders. It had felt so good when he had been pressing between her legs before she pulled at his hips, shifting him back on top of her.

They were kissing, and he was moving around, shifting his hips to try and get inside her but not sure how to move to make that happen. His dick was pinned between them and it was starting to hurt so he moved his hips down a little. Then he felt the tip of it bump into something that was warm and wet. He pushed at the spot, and fell the tip of him slip inside of her. The inside of her was small and tight around him. She gasped and clutched at his shoulders. And he pulled quickly back out. The end of his dick was still touching her opening and he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to stop himself from pushing back inside.

"Did I hurt you?," he asked her, lifting up to look at her face. She shook her head. Her eyes were dark with desire and her hair was all messed up spread out everywhere on the cot under her head. She looked at him and closed her eyes. Then she lifted up with her hips, taking the tip of him back inside her. It broke the last bit of self control he was holding onto and he pushed deep inside her. Then he started moving in and out of her. Once he got into more of a rhythm he could feel her start to move with him. Her hips were rising and tilting, pushing up when he pushed all the way inside her. The noises she was making were getting louder and she was holding on tight to his shoulders. Then she dug her nails into him and started crying out. He thought he might be hurting her, but then he felt he part of her he was pushing into get hot and very wet. The walls on the inside of her were squeezing him, almost like she was having a muscle spasm somewhere deep inside of her. He forgot about trying not to hurt her and pushed into her hard and fast until he felt himself come hard, harder than he ever had when he was thinking about her in the shower or late at night in his bed. He pushed in again and again, until there was nothing left. Then he collapsed on top of her. He felt himself go limp and his dick slid out of her on it's own. Then she was shoving at his chest.

"Get off I can't breathe," she huffed.

"Sorry," he told her, rolling off quickly. He laid on his side and pulled her close. "This okay?"

"Uh huh," she mumbled into his chest.

"I didn't hurt you did I?," he asked. She moved up the cot to kiss his mouth. Such a chaste soft little kiss, it seemed out of place after what they had just done. Then she rolled over so her back was against the front of him.

"No," she said softly, "you didn't hurt me. I already broke my hymen riding horses when I was ten." Hershel had no idea what a hymen was and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Whatever it was, he was glad a horse had broken it and not him. He snuggled in behind her, putting his arm around her and closing his hand over hers. A million thoughts were running through his head. But one kept repeating. It was something his brother Carl had told him. _If you are going to lay down with a girl make sure you are ready to be a father, cause that's what might happen._

"Dixie?"

"Huh?"

"Do you think we just made a baby?," he asked her. She shrugged like she couldn't care less if ten babies were growing inside her.

"I dunno," she said. Then she thought about it a little more. "While babies are growing inside you, do you think they pee and crap in there?" Hershel could tell by her voice that Dixie was dead serious about what she had just asked him. And it was so ridiculous he started laughing. He couldn't stop himself. He buried his face in the crook of his arm and laughed until his stomach ached. He could hear her giggling as well, even though she tried to inisist that it was a perfectly legitimate question. She would just ask Jenny about it later. Jenny knew everything about sex. Hershel got his laughter slowly under control and lay back down next to Dixie, holding her tight and thinking about how lucky he was and how much he loved her. Then he remembered how they ended up back in the bell tower in the first place.

"What the hell were you doing up in that nasty pipe in the middle of the night anyway," he asked her. Dixie sighed.

"If I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Hershel thought about what she was saying. Was it possible Dixie knew about the man that Glenna had seen? He was sure she had been hunting something or someone out there in the woods. And who or what else could it have been? That walker had been choking her when he shot it. He had seen it.

"Try me," he told her.


	32. Chapter 32

Glenna

There was a mountain of books. So many that Glenna could not even begin to count them. Once people heard Glenna was setting up a library, they started dropping them off in huge wheelbarrow loads. Over by the window, there was a pile so big it was blocking the bottom half of the glass. She wasn't sure at first how she should organize them. By name, by author, by type of book, or some other way. Lori's mom had suggested separating them into fiction and non fiction, and then going by the author's last name. So now Glenna was sorting through the piles, tossing them into groups by the last name of the author. Once she had that done, she could start putting them up on the shelves. She was thinking she would just leave extra room on each shelf, since she knew there would be more books dropped of later. Carl told everyone from out of town that they were starting a library in Alexandria, and that he would be willing to trade for books if people found titles they didn't have yet.

Glenna's mom had stayed in bed for a day and a half, but she had eventually come out after Aunt Beth had paid her a visit. Maggie showered up and went to see Sarah down at the infirmary. It was out of character for Glenna's mom to visit the infirmary, unless a family member was sick. But Glenna decided anything was better than having her mom lying in bed all day locked in her room. Glenna's mom had not said anything else to Glenna about her sneaking out the other night. She felt like she should be grateful of that, but in reality it just gave her a fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach like she was waiting for something terrible that she knew was about to happen.

Organizing the books was a mindless task once she got going, and it allowed her mind time to wander. She tried to think on the man in the woods and come up with some brilliant idea for what to do about him. Since Hershel had dubbed her the smart one, she felt like there was a lot of pressure on her to figure out what to do. But her thoughts kept drifting back to Dixie's brother. She thought about how the sun shone through his hair and made it look like it was on fire. And he had a little pale patch of freckles on the bridge of his nose that you could only see when you get really close to him. His hands were so big that when he had wrapped his hands around hers during the shooting lesson it made her feel small for the first time in her life.

Glenna felt that some old voice rising up inside her, telling her that a boy that handsome would never be caught dead with the likes of her. But today she hushed it up. It wasn't hurting anything for her to just think about MJ. And no one would ever know she liked him unless she told them, and she had no intention of ever telling anyone. But there was a new voice inside her. One that sounded strong and brave. The one that came out of Glenna when she finally stood up to her mother. And that one had another idea. _Judith broke up with him. He's single now. Why would he take you out shooting if he didn't like you? If you don't go for it, another girl might and then you will miss out and it will be your own fault._ Glenna liked the new her, but it scared her at the same time. Staying in here with her books was safe. Going out there and telling a boy she liked him was scary. Scarier than finally telling her mom off. Scarier than anything else she could think of.

Out the back of the large room that had recently declared as the town library, there was a long glass greenhouse where Dixie's mom grew medicinal herbs. Coming off one side of that was another big room where the woman dried and mixed the stuff together. Glenna knew she also grew mold on bread and fruit in there to make medicine that people took if they got really really sick. She made teas for anything from headaches to fevers to stomach upset and also mixed up tinctures and salves. And there was a larger area set up on one end of the room where Dixie's dads made wine, beer and moonshine for them to serve down at the bar.

Glenna was getting bored sorting the books and her legs were starting to cramp up from sitting in one place on the floor too long. Dixie's mom had told her she was welcome in the greenhouse and in her 'lab' as long as she didn't disturb anything. So Glenna got up and walked through the door that led into the greenhouse. Some of the books had been sitting around a while before she got them, so she brushed the dust and a few tiny dust bunnies off her pants. She looked around, squinting at the bright light coming in from all the glass windows. There were so many plants growing inside the large room. It smelled most strongly of mint, but she could smell other things as well. The plants filled wire shelves, hung from the ceiling in big round pots and sprouted out of holes that were cut in long white plastic pipes.

There was a motor running somewhere inside and Glenna followed the noise, finding that the motor was pumping water out of a large tank full of fish. The tank was in the ground and ran almost the full length of the greenhouse under a long row of tables full of plants. It was covered with thick screening on top to keep anyone from stepping or falling in. The water fed into the long connected system of white pipes. Lots of people farmed fish and scooped the water out to dump on their gardens, but Glenna thought the system set up in the greenhouse was very ingenious. Glenna walked around behind a large shelf full of what looked like different types of mint and started playing a little game with herself. She tried to guess what each plant was without looking at the label. Sometimes she had to smell them first, but she found she was guessing most of them right. Her favorite smell was the lemon balm, which smelled exactly like fresh lemon peel when you rubbed the leaves on the plant between your thumb and finger.

She heard some feminine sounding voices coming from the library. And some then some soft giggly laughter. The voices carried through the greenhouse but Glenna couldn't see who they belonged to since the shelf and a big pyramid of the white pipes were in her way. The voices trailed off into the lab. Glenna knew people were not supposed to be in RickyJo's lab. She decided she better see who it was first, then depending on that, she might tell them to get out or go tattle on them to Dixie's mom.

Glenna walked slowly though the greenhouse, being careful not to step on anything or knock anything over. As she got closer, she knew the lab door must be cracked open since she could hear what the voices were saying. _...Relax, no one is around to see us..._ Then she heard more laughter. _...When can I see you in private? ... We are alone right now ... You know what I mean..._ It sounded like two women and one of the voices sounded familiar but Glenna couldn't place it. Now she could hear soft moaning noises. Whatever was going on in there, it was clearly something that was not meant for her to see. But she was too curious now to stop herself from taking a look.

Glenna got closer and peeked through the crack in the door. She saw Dixie's mom sitting up on one of the counters. Another woman was standing between her knees. She was black and she had long hair that was twisted up to look like ropes or the strings on a mop. Glenna didn't know her name, but Dixie had pointed her out as the wife of the man that had given her the tiger cub. RickyJo had her dress hiked up and her long legs were bare all the way from her sandaled foot to the top of her thigh. Glenna could see that big lizard she had painted on her leg and the flowers that surrounded it. Glenna forgot what that kind of body art was called but she knew it was something that had been popular in the old world. Lots of people her mother's age had them, but none had as many as Dixie's mom. Glenna thought it made her look pretty, like a living moving piece of art.

The black woman had her hand on RickyJo's knee and she was sliding it up slowly. The two women were looking at each other the way Glenna had seen her Aunt Beth and Uncle Rick look when they were feeling romatic. It was the way Glenna liked to think the characters from her romance novels looked at each other. But she had never seen two girls staring at each other that way before. RickyJo cupped the other woman's face in her hands and kissed her on the mouth. And it was not a chaste little kiss like the way her Aunt kissed her mom sometimes. They had their tounges in each other's mouths. Glenna knew she really ought to sneak away and pretend she was never here, but she couldn't stop herself from watching.

The two women were really going at it now, kissing hard and grabbing at each other. The black woman had her hand between RickyJo's legs under the folds of her skirt and it sure seemed like she liked it since she was pulling at the other woman's clothes. Glenna suddenly found her view obstructed and when she refocused on what was in front of her she saw it was the face of a giant orange and black cat.

Before she could stop herself Glenna let out an ear-piercing shriek. The tiger seemed about as scared as her single it let out a loud roar and darted away from the door to hide behind a table with all its hair standing on end and it's tail poofed out like a giant squirrel. RickyJo and Michonne let go of each other and RickyJo jumped down from the counter and darted for the door.

"Oh my god Glenna are you alright?," she asked. _And how long have you been standing there watching us?_

"I heard you talking," Glenna spit out, "I thought someone was in your lab that wasn't allowed in there. I... I... I'm sorry I didn't mean to look." Glenna's face was white and she was staring at the tiger.

"It's okay," RickyJo told the girl, "calm down and take a breath." Michonne coaxed Shiva out from behind the table and headed in their direction. RickyJo could see Glenna was scared so she pulled her inside the room and away from the doorway.

"I think it's time for us to go," Michonne said. She sounded regretful and Glenna could see the two women were looking at each other funny again. RickyJo nodded. She reached over and squeezed the other woman's hand briefly and then Michonne walked out into the greenhouse with her tiger, shutting the door behind her. Dixie's mom let out a sigh. Glenna thought her face looked sad and wistful for that moment. The woman always seemed so in control of herself, it was reassuring to know she felt conflicted and sad sometimes too. When she turned back to Glenna, she tried to force a smile.

"You see us kissing?," RickyJo asked Glenna. There was no point in beating around the bush. The girl had seen her and Michonne kissing and fondling each other. And if Shiva hadn't sniffed her out, she would have seen a lot more. RickyJo knew that shit had been a mistake in the first place, but the sneaking around had seemed fun and exciting. It always did. Until she got caught. Glenna swallowed hard and nodded her head. "It's alright you're not in any trouble honey," RickyJo told her, "You didn't do anything wrong." Glenna let out a long breath that she didn't know she was holding in.

"Are you going to leave and go live at the Kingdom?," Glenna asked her. RickyJo smiled softly and shook her head.

"No."

"Are you in love with that woman?," Glenna asked. They had sure been kissing like they were in love.

"No," RickyJo said, "but I missed her while she was away and I guess we might have gotten a little carried away since we were excited to see each other again." People did get excited to see their loved ones when they came back from being on the road, Glenna thought she could understand that.

"Glenna?," RickyJo said, "I am going to have to ask you not to say anything to anyone about what you saw. Okay?"

"Like a secret?," Glenna asked. RickyJo was careful not to start laughing.

"Yes," she told her, "like a secret." Glenna thought about that. She had no plans to tell anyone what she had seen, but she could tell Dixie's mom was scared that she might. Glenna guessed Dixie's dads might be mad if they found out. And so would that other woman's husband. Sharing a secret with Dixie's mom made her feel special and exciting. No one ever told Glenna anything.

"I could tell you a secret," Glenna offered, "to make it fair."

"Okay," RickyJo said. She smiled. Now this was getting interesting. She guessed this quiet girl had a lot of secrets. "Tell me." Glenna turned red and looked down at her feet. She was really blushing.

"I really like MJ," she admitted. RickyJo bit her lip to keep from laughing. That wasn't really much of a secret. Everyone had already been talking about it since the two of them started hanging around together. But RickyJo guessed it was the first time Glenna had said it out loud to anyone, or maybe even the first time she had really admitted it to herself. RickyJo was sure her son liked Glenna. But MJ liked everyone. It was hard to tell if he had romantic feelings for the girl or not. But since he suddenly didn't give one single fig about what Judith was doing when a week ago he had been dying of love for her, RickyJo suspected he might. MJ and Glenna looked like an odd couple at first glance, but seeing them together it seemed strangely right somehow. And it was funny to imagine what Glen might have to say about his daughter dating Merle's son. The poor man was probably rolling over in his grave.

Glenna could see the woman's eyes had taken on a faraway look, like she had gone off somewhere that Glenna couldn't follow. Her mom got that way sometimes too, and she would sit out on the back porch holding on to one of the few things she had that belonged to Glenna's dad.

"What are you thinking about?," Glenna asked her quietly. Normally she wouldn't say anything, but since they had already been swapping secrets, she felt more comfortable.

"About your dad actually," RickyJo told her. Glenna moved in a little closer. She didn't know much about her dad, except that he got killed. Her mom never wanted to talk about him.

"What about him?"

"When we were living back at the prison, and MJ was just a little baby, I had to use the bathroom. None of the other girls were around and MJ would scream like crazy anytime he wasn't being held. So I asked your dad to hold him." RickyJo smiled at the memory. That had been during that day that Daryl had taken off with his brother and she didn't know if either of them were ever coming back. "I don't think he had ever held a baby before, because he looked terrified. So I put MJ in his arms, and he was holding him so stiff and awkward." RickyJo held up her arms to do an imitation of the man and how silly he looked. "I reminded him to be careful with MJ's head. And he asked me, Why? Is it going to come off?. His face was too much." Glenna laughed along with RickyJo at the funny story.

"What was my dad like?," Glenna asked.

"He was great," RickyJo told her, "I'm sure your mom told you all about him." Glenna shook her head. "She really didn't tell you anything?" Glenna shook her head again.

"Just that I was named after him and he died." RickyJo sighed. She didn't like to talk about bad things that happened in the past, but if MJ had lost his father, she would like to think she would have told him some of the good stories at least. RickyJo wrapped her arms around Glenna's shoulders.

"How about you help me get all the crap I need from the greenhouse to make the iced tea for the festival, and I will tell you all the stories about your dad I can think of?"

"Really?," Glenna asked. She had never been so excited about hearing stories in her whole life.

"Really."


	33. Chapter 33

Sarah

Maria checked on Wolf again. One of the dog's eyes was still not responding fast enough to the light from her small flashlight, so she wanted to keep the dog in the infirmary one more day. That meant Sarah was staying too. Sarah had not left the dog's side except to use the bathroom since she had been attacked. Maria was sure the other girl had not even gone home to take a shower yet.

"I can sit with Wolf a while if you want to go home and wash up," Maria suggested.

"No thanks I'm fine," Sarah told her. Then she scooted down next to her dog and lay her head on the pillow like she was going to take a nap. Maria sighed and turned the lights down before she left. When Sarah got something in her head, there was just no reasoning with her, especially when it came to her dog. Sarah kept her eyes shut and lay still until she was sure the other girl was gone. Then she rolled over on to her back and stared up at the ceiling, placing her hands under her head. The warm body of her dog was snuggled in on one side of her and she could feel Wolf's slow even breathing. She thought about what had happened to her out in the woods. But she thought more about what happened after.

There had been the initial scramble, keeping Wolf alive and tending to the injuries that she had recieved. Her ribs and the side of her face were sore, but she felt no worse than the time she had fallen out of that tall tree over by the lake. While Maria and her mother had been working on Wolf, Sarah had heard gunshots outside. Dixie's mom told her to stay in bed and she had gone out into the street to see what was going on. When she came back in she told Sarah that the men that hurt her were dead. Then Wolf started seizing again and Sarah had been crying and yelling about her dog. Dixie's mom had given her a pill that she told her was for the pain, but Sarah guessed it had really been to calm her down. Because right after she took it, she started to feel tired. She must have fallen asleep for a while, because when she woke up it felt like it was later in the day and her mom was there.

Sarah asked for her dog and her mother had not questioned her. She had just grabbed hold of the cot Wolf was sleeping on and dragged it over next to Sarah's. Then she had taken a seat on the other side of Sarah's cot. One of her hands fluttered up, like she was looking for a place to touch Sarah. Then she put it back in her own lap. Sarah had still been a little groggy from the medicine. And she also had the uninhibited feeling people got when they were high. She had turned towards her mother and taken her mother's hand in hers. Tears had welled up in her mother's eyes and she had squeezed Sarah's hand tightly in her own. Then she started talking.

Kim told Sarah everything. She told her about her real father, and the men in his group. And the things they did to her. They had killed her mother's family in front of her. Her father had a sister. Sarah had never heard that before. And her mother told Sarah about that horrible woman too. She told her about Dixie's mom and how she had saved her. And about Lori's mom and how she had made Kim want to live again. When she told Sarah about that last battle and how Sarah's stepdad had saved her, Sarah was impressed. She had never seen Eugene wrestle anything bigger than a turkey leg in all her life.

Then her mother went and got a bundle from one of the counters that Sarah had not seen her come in with. She unwrapped it carefully. Sarah could see that what was inside was white and she guessed it must be her festival dress. Her mother made her a new one every year and they were always the most beautiful dresses Sarah had ever seen. And they always suited Sarah. They were never poofy or ruffly like the crap Jenny liked to wear.

Her mom shook it out and held it up for her to see. It was sleeveless and form fitting. The white fabric was thick and lined so her underthings would not show through. It looked like it would fall about to the knees and the front was low cut but with some material scrunched up around the back of the neck area. When she turned it around, Sarah could see the back of it was a shiny silver and the silver wrapped around the front in little pointed stripes. Her mom held up the material around the neck. It was a hood, white on the inside and silver on the outside. And there were two little pointy ears sew onto the top of the hood.

"I got the idea when you asked me to make you a wolf hood scarf," her mom said, "I'm sorry I got so upset about that, I know you just love your dog." Sarah didn't even know what to say. It was the best thing her mom had ever made her. She reached out to touch the soft fabric, saw her hands were still dirty and yanked them back.

"I am going to look just like Wolf in that dress," she said, her eyes opened wide in amazement. Her mom had a big smile on her face.

"Do you want me to leave it here so you can show your friends?," Kim asked her daughter.

"No," Sarah said firmly, "take it home I don't want anything to get on it."

"Are you coming home?," Kim asked her. Sarah shook her head.

"I want to stay with Wolf."

"Okay," her mom said, leaning in to kiss her on the top of the head, "If you need me you have Maria come get me." Sarah nodded. She watched her mom walk out, thinking about everything her mom had told her. Especially the stuff about her real dad. If someone had to rape her mother, at least it had been someone that was strong and fast and a good fighter. Her mother was not very athletic and pretty much the furthest thing from adventurous. Sarah had always wondered where she had gotten those traits from. And now she knew. Too bad the guy had been such a crazy jerk.

Sarah rested for a while and then Dixie and her mother had brought her and Wolf some dinner. When Sarah started getting upset, Dixie's mom had sent Dixie back to the bar. And then she had told Sarah her story. It was the story of what happened to her face. Sarah had listened quietly, having the feeling that maybe Dixie's mom was telling the story not only for Sarah, but also because she needed to get it out of her. Sarah knew that not even Dixie knew what happened to her mother's face and it was a topic of much speculation. After she left, Lori's mom showed up with extra blankets and pillows. And then she sat down and told Sarah her story. It was similar to Sarah's mother's story, except Sammie had been a lot younger. And her mother and sister had not died in the attack, they had died later when the farm the were staying at got overrun. Like the other two women, she had made a point of telling Sarah that not all men were like the ones that hurt her.

The next moring, Hershel's mom and Glenna's mom had shown up with some breakfast for her. And then they had told her their stories. Even Glenna's mom had a story. And not the one about Glenna's dad dying. This was a different bad story. She had been molested by the same man that had raped Dixie's mom. It was the first real and not so crazy sounding thing that she had ever heard the woman talk about. And after hearing everything she had bee told by the other women, she felt sympathy for Maggie. With all that they had been through, it was amazing everyone in town wasn't as crazy as her.

Sarah lay on her cot, processing all the information she had been given over the last day and a half. She didn't want to say she was happy about what happened to her. But it had been a small price to pay to be indoctrinated into what seemed to be a very exclusive club of women that no one would ever want to join on purpose. Sarah had a feeling that the visits had been spontaneous. They had not all planned to come and tell her their stories, it had just happened. And now she knew. All the secrets about the things in the past that only got alluded to and never talked about or explained.

Sarah pet her dog a few more times and then forced herself up and out of bed. Her clothes were torn and dirty. And she could tell she was on the verge of being able to smell herself. She poked her head outside the infirmary, looking for Maria, wishing she had taken her up on the shower offer a few minutes before. The girl was no where to be found, but she spotted Glenna coming out of the new library with Dixie's mom.

"Hey Sarah," Glenna called to her, "you need something?" Sarah nodded and the girl hurried over. She moved quick for such a big girl and Sarah noticed when she got closer, that she was looking different. Maybe it was just the clothes she was wearing but Sarah swore the girl looked like she had lost weight.

"Yeh," Sarah said, "can you sit with Wolf for me while I go home and shower?" Glenna nodded. "He is in there on the cot sleeping." Sarah watched Glenna walk inside. She lowered herself down carefully next to the dog. Wolf whined a little and Glenna stroked her until she quieted down. Sarah watched them for a few more seconds until she could see the dog had relaxed. Then she headed home to wash and change.


	34. Chapter 34

Maria

Maria was walking home to look for one of Sarah's parents, or maybe her own mother. She really thought Sarah ought to go home and at least take a shower. She still had dried blood on her from the attack. If she didn't want to listen to Maria, maybe she would listen to someone else. Or maybe her mom could double check Wolf and try to help her decided if it would be alright to move the dog home to recooperate. She saw Dixie and Hershel coming from the other direction. They were holding hands. And while Dixie's long hair covered her neck, Hershel's did not. And he had several hickeys, on both sides of his neck. Maria smiled a little, wondering when that had happened.

"I was just looking for you," Dixie said. Maria walked over to her to see what she wanted.

"What's going on?," Maria asked. Dixie always showed everything she was thinking plainly on her face. And right now she looked excited and a little nervous.

"Hershel knows," Dixie blurted out.

"Knows what?"

"About the man in the woods," Hershel said. He let go of Dixie's hand and put his arm around her waist instead, staying close to her.

"You tell him?," Maria asked. Dixie shook her head.

"Glenna saw him in the woods," Hershel said. He left out the part about Dixie going after the man alone. And what had happened after. He wondered if people could tell. Did it show in his face that he wasn't a virgin anymore. Dixie didn't look any different, except for her expressions and the way she looked at him. She had not told him she loved him, but like everything else, it showed on her face.

"Glenna was in the woods?," Maria said with some amount of concern, "what happened?"

"She's fine," Hershel said. Before he could say anything else, Dixie cut him off.

"Maybe we better not talk about this here," she suggested. Number one, she didn't want anyone telling her parents about her little midnight adventure. And if anyone heard them, they would think they were crazy. Maria nodded.

"Who else knows?"

"Well," Dixie said, "me, you, and Sarah, Hershel, Glenna..."

"And Jenny," Hershel finished.

"What about Lori?," Maria asked. Dixie shrugged. She had not had much time with the girl since she got back from Hilltop, but if Hershel and Glenna had found out on their own, maybe Lori knew something too.

"I think we all better sit down together and figure out what everyone knows," Dixie said. Hershel nodded his agreement. Maria tried to hide a smile. She had a feeling Dixie could suggest that everyone go drink up a gallon of horse piss and Hershel would still agree with her.

"Lets get everyone and go to the infirmary," Maria suggested, "we can say we are visiting Sarah." Dixie nodded. And they could shut the door to the place, so no one would hear them.

"We will get Jenny," Dixie offered, "and I think Glenna is next door at the library."

"I will go get Lori," Maria said. She didn't know if Lori even knew anything, but it seemed for her to be there if the rest of them would be. The thought of the seven of them together eased Maria's mind in a way it had not been until that moment. Together they could figure something out.

Sarah came back from her shower to find not only Glenna, but all her other friends sitting in the infirmary waiting for her. She had that funny feeling again, like the night they had snuck Glenna out of her room down the ladder. _Everyone is here now._ It made her feel strong and light as air. Maria nodded her approval when she saw Sarah had clean clothes on and her long dark hair was freshly washed. She had towel dried it, but it was so thick, the collar and shoulders of her shirt were still damp from the moisture it held. Maria moved over, making a place for Sarah to sit next to her dog. Sarah looked down at her dog with a sad and worried look. The dog would seem fine one minute, eating normally and terrible again the next. She had heard Maria and her mother whispering. They said the dog might have permanent brain damage.

Maria saw Sarah petting her dog, looking worried. She was sitting close, so she reached over to put her hand on the dog as well, touching Wolf where her fur was the softest, near her ears. They had pulled the cots apart so there would be room for everyone to sit. Glenna was in the middle of the other cot. She leaned foreward and took one of Wolf's paws in her hand, like the dog was another person who's hand she was holding.

"Poor Wolf," Dixie mumured. She moved to the floor near the dog and lay her head on it's chest. Hershel was quick to follow her example and he saw on the floor next to her, one arm around Dixie and one hand on the dog's back flank. Lori crowded in on the other side, sitting close to Maria, and she leaned close to put her hand on Wolf's head. Jenny was standing by the wall, leaning against the counter. She couldn't explain it, but she felt an overwhelming urge to get close and lay her hands on the injured dog like she saw everyone else doing. She sat on the other side of the cot and turned to lay both her hands on the dog's back.

It was when Jenny's first hand connected that Maria felt it. Maybe she felt things more closely than other people, because of her medical training, or maybe all of them felt it and no one could find the words to explain it. She felt her hands get warm. And the fur of the dog warmed under her touch. Her mother always told her she had healing hands. Maybe this was what she meant. She stayed still, moving only the tips of her fingers across the soft fur in front of Wolf's ear. And then the dog leaped up, barking and startling everyone, making them jump back. Dixie and Jenny started laughing. Hershel and Lori were smiling. Sarah and Glenna looked shocked.

Wolf leaped down from the cot and ran around the room, barking at all of them. It was like she was talking to them. Hey! When did all of you show up! Hey! Hey you guys! Take me outside so I can run around! The dog ran over and jumped up in Sarah's lap like she was a tiny puppy instead of a giant hunting dog. Sarah had tears in her eyes as she hugged the silly dog, not caring if it was getting her fresh clothes dirty and hairy. Maria jumped up and took her small flashlight out of a drawer. Then she leaned down and shined it into Wolf's eye. The one that had been unresponsive before.

"Her eye!," Maria declared with some excitement, "It's doing what it's supposed to, shes going to be fine!" Wolf gave her a little yip, as if to say _of course I'm fine you silly human._ Maria laughed and hugged the dog. She could see everyone else was smiling and laughing along with her.

"It was weird how she jumped up like that when we were all touching her," Glenna quietly mentioned. She had felt the strange sensation, the same as Maria, but she was having a hard time understanding what had happened. Jenny looked at her.

"It was weird," Jenny agreed. When she had touched the dog, completing the circle, a wave had passed through her that felt someting like the feeling she got during an orgasm. But it had not been sexual. It left her feeling drained and tired.

"Weird or not," Dixie said, pulling herself up on to the cot next to Glenna, "I think we better talk about what we came here to talk about." Wolf gave another yip.

"What's that?," Sarah asked. She thought they all came to visit her.

"About that man in the woods," Hershel informed her. He had moved to sit next to Dixie, even though there was more room on the other side of Glenna. They looked like two little peas in the same pod. Maria had the feeling they had done more than sit together, and recently too.

"What man in the woods?," Lori asked. She was feeling totally lost. When Maria said she needed to come to a meeting she thought it was something to do with the festival. Then she felt everyone's eyes on her at once.


	35. Chapter 35

LoriAnn

"No," Lori told them. She rested her elbows on her knees and put her head in her hands. _No no no no no none of this is real._ She could feel their eyes on her. Then she felt Maria's hand on her back and another hand on her right forearm that she guessed was Dixie. They had to be playing some kind of trick on her. There's no way she was going to be convinced that any of this was true. Because that would mean admitting that what she had seen in the woods all those months ago was true. All the terrible dreams she had been having. So much of that had actually happened. It was all too much for her, and she felt like her head was going to explode.

"What did you see?," Glenna asked. A few heads turned her way. She thought so much quicker than everyone else that at first the question seemed out of place. But once the words were out of her mouth, they made perfect sense. There was no way Lori was this upset by what Dixie had just told her. If she thought this was all some kind of bad joke, she would have laughed at them, not buried her head in her hands and started rocking back and forth.

"I never saw anything," Lori mumbled into her hands, "I was dreaming, it never happened."

"If it was a dream," Dixie told her, "then tell us what you dreamed." Lori was shaking her head. Dixie took her hands and gently pulled them away from her face. Dixie spoke to her softly and gently. "Just tell us." Lori took a few deep breaths. The muscles in her arms twitched and her body tensed up. She held tight to Dixie's hand with both of hers, drawing strength from the girl. It had been such a long time ago, and Lori had tried her hardest to forget what she saw. When Glenna started explaining the way the man's mask looked, everything came back to her in a rush of terrible images. One more deep breath and she started talking.

Lori had been staying at Hilltop. She had gone on a short trip to Little Lake with Rolland and Judith to trade for a bunch of scrap metal they had. They had taken two large horse carts so they would be able to bring it all back. The people at Little Lake were nice. Just like at Hilltop, lots of men found a reason to try and talk to her once they found out she wasn't married. To get away from the constant attention, she decided to go out hunting for the day. Little Lake was a community of small cabins and houses around a lake. Rolland tried to explain that he thought the place had originally been some kind of old world camp where people sent their children in the summer to fish and canoe and have other kinds of fun.

The woods around the place were different from the woods around Alexandria. And they were hunted much less frequently. So many of the animals were not even afraid of her once they caught her scent. She could have finished her hunting in a few minutes. but since hunting had not been her real reason for getting out of town, she walked by the boar trails and rabbit warrens, heading out deeper into the woods. Lori found an old tree stand that still looked fairly sturdy. She climbed up and found a comfortable spot. Then she pulled out her water canteen and took a sip. A family of deer wandered out in front of her. Instead of taking aim, she watched them for a while. It was a mother, a button buck and a smaller fawn that still had little white spots on its back The fawn ran around the doe, jumping and playing, butting into it's mother and trying to get her to play with it.

The day was warm, but not hot and there was a nice cool breeze coming in from the east. Lori was tired from the ride, and the stressful task of guiding the horses over the rough roads. And from the hours they had spent moving and loading scrap metal the day before. She leaned back against the trunk of the tree and closed her eyes. She drifted off to sleep, and then she had a terrible nightmare. That was the only thing that could explain what happened next.

There was a loud scream. It was a scream of fear and pain. And it pulled Lori out of her light nap with a start, like someone had slapped her. She rubbed at her eyes and looked around to see where the noise had come from. The family of deer were missing. And instead two people were in the small clearing. A woman was on the ground and an oddly dressed man was leaning over her, stabbing her in the chest. Then he stood up and walked around her in a circle, chanting in some strange language Lori didn't understand.

He held the knife out over the woman's body and bright red blood was sliding down the blade, dripping down from the tip of it. The woman's body started to twitch. When her eyes opened, she was one of the masses. The undead. No longer a person. But when the walker woman rose from the ground, she made no move to attack the man. Instead she followed him in a circle around the clearing. Then he stopped and turned toward the walker, still holding his knife. Lori couldn't see what the man's facial expression was, since he was wearing a mask. He used the knife to cut off the remainder of the woman's clothes. Lori had ever seen a walker that fresh before. On the rare occasion that someone got bit by a walker, the limb was removed or they were put down immediately. If they died, they would be stabbed throught the head to make sure they never turned. If she had seen this woman from behind, she might have thought she was still alive and just injured in some way.

The man finished up cutting away at the walker's clothing. Then he started walking around in a circle again with the naked walker trailing behind him. Then he stopped and face the thing. He pointed at the ground and the walker lay down where he was pointing, moving in a disjointed jerky way, like its body and head were not attached. Then the man started taking unbuttoning his pants. Lori jumped up to her feet. forgetting that there was a large hard tree branch directly above her head. She hit her head on it hard enough to make her see stars. Then her limp body dropped onto the tree stand.

When she woke up, the man and the walker woman were gone. The deer were gone. And her head hurt. She saw a small puddle of dark blood in the clearing. But she told herself it must have been from an injured animal. Theres no way that what she had seen could have been real. Lori used the walk back to Little Lake to calm herself. She had never told anyone about what she had seen. Convinced that what she had seen was a dream, she pushed it down and made herself forget. When that pregnant woman had shown up at Hilltop, talking about smart walkers, Lori had never conciously made the connection. But thats when the dreams had started.

"You really think what I saw was real?," Lori asked. There were nods all around. Lori started to cry. Everyone at Little Lake had been killed. And maybe if she had killed that man when she saw him, she could have prevented all of that. Now he was threatening her home. And her family.

"Yes," Dixie told her. Then one by one, each of them told her what they had seen. Glenna asked her to describe the mask she had seen in more detail. There was no doubt that it was the same man she and Sarah had seen. After all, how many crazed men in the same mask that could control walkers could there be running around out there.

"You forgot the best part," Sarah reminded them. Lori wiped her tears and looked at Sarah. How could there be a best part about any of this? Sarah smiled, the bruised and swollen side of her face twisting up and making her look wicked.

"What is the best part?," Lori asked.

"We know where that creep is hiding." At that, Dixie and Sarah locked eyes. Lori could tell they were both thnking the same thing. And she thought they were both crazy.

"The festival starts tomorrow," Maria reminded them. If they all went traipsing off into the woods right now, they were really going to be missed. All their parents would throw a collective fit. Dixie scratched at her head. She would like nothing more than to leave right now and find that man. Then he was going to pay for what he had done. But Maria did have a point.

"Let's think of it this way," Hershel said in his logical way, "the fesitval gives us a few days to plan our attack." Then he squeezed Dixie's hand hard. "And no one better go off trying to hunt him on their own." She made a litte pouty face at him, and then looked at Sarah again.

"I am not fucking kidding with you!," Hershel hollered at Dixie, making the other girls jump, "this is not a joke Dixie, you could have been killed!" Dixie threw her hands up.

"Okay okay," she said, "I won't go out by myself again."

"Or with Sarah," Hershel added. With that she crossed her arms over her breasts.

"Or with Sarah," she repeated reluctantly.

"He is right Dixie," Jenny added. She gave Hershel a look that he took to mean Jenny was going to watch her crazy cousin and make sure she didn't take off again. Dixie wrinkled up her nose at both of them. Lori laughed at her expression. Telling her story to the group had been hard. But now that Lori had gotten it off her chest, she felt like a weight had been lifted. And she was glad that she wasn't going crazy and seeing things. Lori wouldn't know for sure until the next time she slept, but she had a feeling her nightmares had finally come to an end.


	36. Chapter 36

Dixie

The night before the festival was when everyone lit candles. There was no set time that the candle lighting began. But they always put the candles down by the front gates. Dixie guessed that had begun after something bad had happened in that spot, but no one ever told her what it was. After the meeting in the infirmary, Hershel had walked her home. Then they had gone around the back of her house and sat on her back steps kissing for a while. Eventually, he had to leave, since he had been gone all night and most of the day, he needed to a least go home for dinner so his parents wouldn't start searching for him.

Most of the time, Dixie and her family ate in smaller groups or down at the bar. But tonight they were all together. Even her Aunt Jessica's other daughters were over, with their husbands and children. This meant she and MJ had to go down in the basement and get the extra slats of wood that were used to extend the dining room table. Her mother and her Aunt made a big dinner, and Dixie's cousins brought dishes to pass from their house. The food was good, but Dixie found herself pushing it around on her plate, lost in her own thoughts. She should really be thinking about that man in the woods and how they were going to lure him out of his hidey hole, but instead she found herself thinking about Hershel. His hands, and the way the palms of them were so much softer than hers. The way that one curl of his blonde hair fell down into his face and swung back and forth with the rhythm of his movements when he had been inside her.

"Dixie!," her daddy Merle yelled at her," yer momma is talking to you girl. Get yer head out of the clouds." He snapped his fingers in front of her face. By the way several people started laughing, she guessed her mother had been trying to get her attention for some time.

"Oh!," she squeaked, "what is it mom." Her mother was smiling at her.

"Do you want to do the candle lighting with me tonight?," her mother asked. Dixie nodded. She wasn't sure who to light her candle for anyway, so she might as well just go with her mom.

"I will go with you mom," MJ offered. His mom made a face. He could tell there was something she didn't want to sat to him.

"I am going with Judith," she tried to tell him as gently as possible. The girl had asked her a few days before when she had caught her alone outside the bar. RickyJo expected her son to be upset with this news but he only shrugged like he couldn't care less about the girl he had been dying of love for just a week ago.

"You can go with me and yer dad," Daryl offered the boy. MJ nodded. He liked going with his mom best, but it didn't really make much that much difference to him. The conversation went on, and Dixie was able to slip back into her own thoughts, unaware that her mother was quietly observing her and trying to figure out what was different about her that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

Dixie walked with her mother over to Lori's house to get Judith, then to her surprise they turned away from the gate and headed back down the street. Judith didn't ask any questions, so Dixie guessed she must already know what was going on. Dixie had not gotten to spend much time with Judith since she got back from Hilltop, but they used to be good friends. Judith always made Dixie think of what her brother would be like if he was a girl instead of a boy. They had the same funny sense of humor and hunger for adventure. Her mother swore the two of them had given her every single one of her white hairs before they were even teenagers. But Judith seemed so much calmer now, like she had grown up since Dixie saw her last.

Dixie's mother stopped in front of Hershel's house and went up on the steps, knocking softly on the door. Dixie didn't think her mother knew anything about her and Hershel, but she couldn't think of any other reason why they would be at his doorstep. It made her heart beat faster in her chest. When Hershel's mother answered the door, RickyJo smiled at her warmly. Then she asked to talk to Rick. They must have been cleaning up the dinner dishes because he came to the door drying his hands with a towel.

"Something wrong?," he asked the woman. She shook her head.

"I was going to take Judith down to light a candle," RickyJo said, "for her dad. I thought you might want to come." Rick looked surprised at first. But then a look of melancholy came over his face. He thought about what he wanted to do.

"Yes," he finally said, "I think I'd like that." He called into the house, letting Beth know he would be back shortly. Then he hung the towel on the banister behind him and came out onto the porch, shutting the door behind him. When they came down the steps, Dixie watched him stop her mother with a gentle hand on her shoulder. Then they hugged. It was very brief, but Dixie could see they were both struggling with their emotions. They had not always seen eye to eye on everything, but over the years they had come to respect each one another. Dixie's mom threw her arm around Dixie's shoulders and she saw that Hershel's dad did the same with Judith. Then they all walked down to the front gates together.

There was a small fire going inside a charcoal grill. Next to that were many bins that were full of candles. A few were already lit and burning on the pavement near the gate. People were milling around, some talking in small groups, and some crying together. Dixie's mom took a candle out of one of the bins and stuck the tip of it into the fire to light it. Dixie did the same, and she saw that Judith and Hershel's dad were leaning in close, also getting their candles lit. The tradition was to light a candle for a lost loved one. Then make a wish on the candle for the future. They all bent down to drip some wax on the ground to keep the slender candles in place. Then they stuck them to the pavement near the ones that had already been lit. They stood up slowly so the force of their movements would not cause the candles to sputter out. Dixie's mom had her eyes closed, one hand clutched to her chest, and with the other she was clinging to Dixie. She always wondered what her mother wished for. But she knew better than to ask her.

Dixie closed her eyes and thought about her own wish. She had not come prepared. Her mind quickly wandered over everything that had happened. You only got one wish a year, so she always felt pressure to make it a good one. _I wish safety and happiness for everyone I know._ It was a little generic, but she was happy with it. Her mother must be done too, because when Dixie opened her eyes, her mother was smiling down at her. Judith had been quick. She was getting married the next day, so Dixie knew she had wished for something to do with her marriage. If Dixie had another wish, she would want Judith to stay here in Alexandria with them. But she felt that might have been a selfish wish to make.

They backed away from the candles, to make room for other people. Then Dixie's mom told Judith a quick story about her dad, and how he had been the one to help deliver her baby since Daryl had been gone on a run to get food and diapers for Judith. Then Rick told her a funnier one about high school and some trouble her dad had gotten into with the high school gym teacher.

"Are you still a little mad at my dad?," Judith asked him, "for making me with your wife?" Rick thought about her question. He realized he had not been mad at Shane for a very long time. If Shane had not slept with Lori, Rick never would have gotten together with Beth. It was a cliché, but things happened the way they did for a reason. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

"No," he answered, "I got over that a long time ago." Judith smiled her beautiful smile at him, Lori's smile. Then she hugged him tightly around the neck.

"Good," she said, "because I really want you to stand up for me during the wedding tomorrow."

"Nothing would make me happier," Rick told the girl. After that, they walked over to the bar and had a glass of wine together, taking a little about all the friends they had lost over the years, discussing who they missed and why. Dixie chatted with Judith about her wedding and her plans for the future.

Later, Dixie took a long shower, scrubbing up and giving her hair a good wash so she would be ready for the festival the next day. Her mother came into her room with a bag of little scraps of spongy colored fabric that she called tulle. She wound Dixie's hair up in them so that when she took it down in the morning, it would cascade into long ringlets. When she got to the hair near her ear, her mother started laughing.

"Looks like we are leaving your hair down tomorrow," she said.

"Huh?," Dixie asked. It was going to be hot, and she wanted her hair up to show the back of her dress.

"Ya got love bites all over your damn neck Dixie," her mom told her.

"What's a love bite?," Dixie asked, feeling at her neck. She didn't feel anything there. Dixie got up and opened looked in the small tilting mirror above her dresser. Sure enough there were funny looking red marks all over the side of her neck.

"Next time tell him to suck you somewhere it won't show," her mother suggested with a smile. Dixie turned about as red as the marks on her neck. She noticed her mother didn't ask her who had done it. Maybe she already knew, or maybe she didn't want to know. Her mother worked on getting the rest of her hair rolled up before she said anything else. "If yer dad sees it, tell him Aunt Jess burnt you with a curling iron." Dixie laughed. That was a good one. And she didn't have to ask which dad her mom was talking about. When they were alone, Dixie noticed her mom always called her daddy Merle _daddy Merle_ , and her daddy Daryl her mom just called _your dad._ Dixie had often wondered if her mom knew something that no one else did. Like which one of her husbands had actually been the one to father Dixie.

With that, her mom hugged her gently and asked Dixie if she had anything she needed to ask her. Dixie guessed she meant anything about sex. So Dixie shook her head. Her mother had informed her in great detail on the subject a few years before. Truthfully, there were a few things she wished she didn't know. Then her mom was off to force showers and haircuts on the rest of the family. Dixie could hear her brother downstairs pissing and moaning about not needing his hair cut. Then she heard one of her dads yell at him. _Yer gonna do whatever yer mom tells ya and yer gonna like it._ There was some assorted laughter, and then she heard MJ out on the porch telling her Aunt not to cut his hair too short. Dixie pulled a big flannel on over her night clothes and took her tiger cub down to the kitchen to warm up some milk for him.

Dixie was lying in bed under her covers. She had given up trying to sleep and was reading a book that she had read so many times before the cover was no longer attached and the pages had a soft worn feel. Her door opened quickly and quietly, making her sit up in bed and grab for the small knife she kept on her nightstand. Then just as quickly it clicked shut.

"How did you get in here?," Dixie whispered, putting the knife back down and setting her book on top of it, open to the page she was on. Hershel held out a little tag of paper that had a key dangling from it.

"My dad has a copy of everyone's house keys," he told her with a big grin. She scooted over the the side of her small bed to make room for him. Her hair was all tied up in colored rags and they flopped around as she moved. It gave her a comical appearance, but Hershel didn't comment on it. His mom had done the same thing to her own hair and his sister's hair earlier in the evening. He walked quietly across her room, stepping over the tiger cub without waking it.

"We are going to have to be quiet," Dixie warned him, "if my dad hears us in here, he will throw a full on fit." Hershel nodded, but he didn't really like the idea of sneaking around every night. He kicked his shoes off and pulled his jeans off, leaving him in his boxers and tshirt before he climbed under the covers with her.

"If we tell them we are gettting married, you think they will let me stay over?," he asked. Dixie thought about that. The thought of telling her father she had a boyfriend, she was getting married, and Hershel was going to be sleeping in her room did not sound like fun. Maybe she could tell her mother, and get her to tell her dads. She still wasn't sure if they would be able to have sleepovers though.

"Dunno," she said, "are we getting married?" Dixie had not really thought much about all that yet. But she liked the sound of it. She wiggled around, trying to get comfortable in the small bed. Hershel shifted onto his back and she rested her head on his chest, one arm and one leg draped across him. Since she was in a tank top and a small pair of shorts, she could feel the fabric of his shorts rubbing against the inside of her thigh.

"Well its too late for this year," Hershel said, sounding very disappointed, "but we could do it next year." He knew people usually moved in together once they decided to get married, but waited until the next summer festival before they had an actual ceremony. He rubbed her back, sliding his hand up under her shirt.

"Will you get me a ring?," she asked. Dixie wasn't a fan of most girly things, but she did like jewelry.

"Getcha whatever you want." He slipped his hand down inside her soft cotton shorts, touching the taunt skin of her backside. She tilted her head back to kiss him. But when he moved down to kiss her neck she stopped him.

"Don't leave anymore suck marks on me," she said, "my mom saw the other ones." Hershel had to turn his head into the pillow to swallow his laughter.

"My dad saw mine. I tried to say they were from shaving. He asked me how I managed to bite myself shaving." He could feel Dixie's body shaking with silent laughter.

"My mom said to tell you to leave them where they wouldn't show next time." Hershel stopped laughing. That sounded like a challenge. He hadn't meant to leave the other marks, but he guessed it wouldn't be hard to make some more. He rolled her off him, moving over so she wouldn't fall off the other side if the bed. Then he moved quickly down her body and pushed her shirt up.

Dixie could feel by the amount of light coming in through her blinds that it was time to get up. But she was so snuggly and comfortable, Hershel's strong arms wrapped around her, his body heat lending itself to hers. Her tiger cub was curled up down by their feet. His skin was soft and she could feel the part of him that wasn't so soft pressed up against her ass. Dixie gave a soft little moan and wiggled her body closer to his, feeling him slide so the tip of him was pressing against her opening. Hershel woke up, finding a breast in his hand and starting kissing the back of her neck. He pushed the blankets away so he could fondle and caress her. Dixie closed her eyes, arching her back, trying to get at a better angle so she could get him inside her. She wasn't thinking about where they were or the fact that there was not a lock on her bedroom door.

Without warning, there was a soft knock on the outside of her door before the door was immediately swung open. Her mother stepped into the room, walking quickly towards her bed with the intention of waking her so she could get ready for the festival.

"Sweet baby jesus," her mother swore, she turned around headed back towards the hallway. Two blonde heads popped up from the pillows on Dixie's bed. "Your dad is in the shower," her mother told Dixie. "Hershel I highly suggest you get your clothes on and get on home before he comes out." Then she swung the door shut with a little more force than was necessary.

Hershel was out of bed in about half a second, groping for his clothing and trying to pull it on as fast as possible. Dixie figured she better get dressed too, so she got up and retrieved her night clothes from inside the folds of her blankets. By the time she pulled up here shorts and got her tank top on, Hershel was tying his shoes. She peeked out into the hallway, then motioned to him that it was safe. He darted out and made a beeline for the stairs, practically running over Jenny's dad on his way down.

"What in the holy hell?," Morgan declared. First he thought the boy might be coming from his daugher's room, but then he saw Dixie coming down the steps behind him. Morgan flattened himself against the wall to let them through, a big smile on his face. The boy looked more than a bit disheveled, and Dixie had a load of colored rags tied up in her hair that were flopping and bouncing all over the place. Once they got past him, the both of them were taking the steps two at a time. They took off down the hall and towards the back kitchen door.

MJ was in the kitchen, lounging against the counter and drinking a huge glass of the orange juice that his mother had run through the juicer the night before so they could have it for breakfast. His eyes opened wide before he started to laugh.

"Holy shit man, did you fuck my sister?," he asked. Dixie threw MJ a dirty look. Before Hershel could dart out the back door, MJ lurched forward and caught him by the back of the shirt. Hershel turned on him, yanking away from his grasp.

"Out the front door," MJ told him quickly, "my dad is smoking on the back porch."

"Thanks," Hershel told the boy, holding up his hand to grasp the other boys hand firmly in his for a moment. Then he hugged Dixie close and kissed her cheek before running towards the front door as fast as his feet would carry him. MJ watched him go with a big smile on his face. Then he looked at his sister. Her hair looked like it was wrapped up in medusa's snakes, and her face was flushed and blotchy. She had a tiny little pair of shorts on, and a tank top that looked about three sizes too small for her to be trying to cover her gigantic titties up with it. Her stomach was showing, along with a most of her breasts. And that's not all he could see.

"What in the hell are you looking at?," Dixie asked him, cocking her hand up on her hip and turning her head, making the ends of one of the little hair snakes flop into her face. MJ was snickering at her now, and she didn't like it, not one little bit. The back door opened and then slammed shut again. Now not only was her brother staring at her, but her daddy Merle was standing inside the back door, looking at her like she had grown a third eye in the middle of her forehead. He rubbed at his freshly shaved chin. Then he pointed at her midsection.

"God damn girl," he said to his daughter, "ya got fucking hickeys all over your damn body."


	37. Chapter 37

**** This chapter will contain lyrics from the song "Hands" by Jewel. As always I own nothing from the walking dead and thank you to everyone that has read and reviewed. ****

Jenny

The bathroom was crowded up with everyone trying to get ready at once. Since Jenny's mom was the person in town that knew how to fix hair, all the women ended up at her house. Jenny's father had taken off for the bar with her uncles, but MJ was still hanging around in the hallway upstairs, giving everyone his opinion on how he thought they looked. Jenny didn't have much hair to fix, and her mom had already braided the front down like a thin little headband the night before. So she helped Lori with her hair and then they headed into Jenny's room to dress, shutting the door behind them. Jenny already had the proper undergarments on, including the underwear that her mother insisted upon. So she took her shorts and tank off and pulled her dress on over her head, adjusting it so it lay right and then zipping up the side of it.

She took the necklace down off the corner of her mirror and Lori helped her tie it on. Jenny touched it with her eyes closed, feeling the cool smooth shells against her skin and thinking about the man that gave them to her. Lori had a strapless dress on that was snug fitting on top and flared when it hit her hips. Jenny didn't say anything, but she guessed strapless was the girl's only option. Her arms were so big they would never fit into a women's dress with sleeves. Lori wasn't wearing jewelry, but she had flowers pinned up in her hair that her mother had fastened together into a headband.

Lori came around to look at the necklace now that Jenny had it on. It was really more like a piece of art than jewelry. And with the pale color of the shells, and Jenny's dark skin, it looked even better on her than it had looked hanging on her mirror.

"Andrew gave it to me," Jenny said. Lori nodded her approval. Andrew's friend Greg had been hanging around her a lot, but he had not given her any presents. Jenny had always had a certain power over men. And she never felt guilty taking gifts from men even if she planned to give them nothing in return. As far as Lori was concerned it was part of her charm. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Lori told her. Jenny looked serious about whatever she had to ask, which was and unusual way for Jenny to look. Lori had a feeling her friend might be catching feelings for the man that had given her the necklace. By this point, everyone in town knew they had been spending every night together in his room at the boarding house.

"Andrew asked me to go back to Seaside with him," Jenny said. She smoothed down her dress and felt the necklace again. Then she sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Are you in love with him? Have you told your parents? Do you think he might want to stay here instead?" Lori took a breath. "Sorry that was a lot of questions."

"I know he won't stay here, and I haven't told my parents anything yet." Lori noticed that Jenny had not answered the most important question of all.

"But are you in love with him?" Jenny looked down. Then she nodded.

"I think I might be."

"Then you should go," Lori told her, "If you hate it there, just make him bring you back home." Jenny stood up and wrapped her arms around the other girl, hugging her tightly. She knew what she wanted to do, but it had helped to hear someone else say it out loud.

All the people that were not directly involved in the ceremony had left and walked down to the festival site. And Hershel's sister had been sent to find him and send him to Dixie's house. He and his brother Carl were the only men there. The remainder of the group consisted of the rest of the seven and their mothers. Carl was going over the ceremony again, and where everyone was supposed to stand and what they were supposed to do while Dixie's aunt Jessica dabbed at Hershel's neck with makeup, trying to cover up the red and purple marks that were all over the right side of it from behind his ear all the way down into his collar. He did not look pleased. Jenny and some of the other girls were having quite a giggle about it.

"Could you all please listen up before we get out there and make fools of ourselves bumping into each other," Carl asked the girls. Jenny rolled her eyes. They did this stupid garbage every damn year. Get up on the stage. Listen to a boring ass speech. Then everyone claps. Sometimes they shot arrows off, sometimes not. Then whoever was getting married got married. Ceremony done.

"No speech this year," Carl reminded the mothers. They had already had a meeting without the kids before this and decided on something that might be more entertaining for everyone.

"No speech?," Jenny asked.

"God damn Jenny," her aunt Ricky said to her. Then she stood up on a chair. "Everyone shut the fuck up and listen to Carl! He ain't goin' to say the shit again." Carl laughed and when she jumped down, he followed her example and stood on the chair.

"Everyone needs to have their bows and arrows. We are going to do something else instead of a speech and then I want all the kids to fire off an arrow. And not into the damn crowd like what happened that one year. Aim for the front gates. Then I have a surprise for everyone. Then the weddings. And then we eat."

"Hey!," Dixie called out, "that was an accident." There was some laughter at her comment. A few years ago she had shot her arrow directly up in the air and everyone had scattered off screaming afraid it would come down and land on them. Deanna had scolded her after, but she had a feeling the woman had secretly found it all just a little bit funny. The room fell back into a low hum of chatter. Carl got down off the chair, giving up trying to control the group of noisy excited women. Sammie scootched in close to him, wrapping one arm around his waist and kissing him warmly on the neck.

"Better not let her kiss you there," Hershel warned him, "or they will put makeup on you too." Jenny was close enough to hear his comment and she laughed.

"Kissing and sucking are two different things," she informed the boy. This made Lori's parents laugh. They kissed again, on the mouth this time.

"Who was sucking on your neck anyway?," Carl asked his brother. He hoped it was RickyJo's pretty daughter. Carl had to admit, he had always had a bit of a crush on RickyJo, and her daughter was even prettier than she was. If his brother had somehow managed to land her, he was doing pretty damn well for himself.

"No one," Hershel insisted. But the way he was getting all red in the cheeks and glancing in Dixie's direction told a different story. He had been trying not to look at her. She looked so sexy in her dress, he was afraid he might get turned on. And getting up on stage in front of the whole town while he was pitching a tent in his pants was not his idea of fun. Jenny followed his gaze. She had to admit, she was a little jealous of her cousin's dress. The dress was all beads and sparkles, and it fit her well. Her whole back was bare, and most of her hair was piled up on top of her head in curls, with some long pieces hanging down. She had red nails and red lipstick on, but no other makeup. And she had on that sparkly gold necklace, the charm nestled just above the cleft between her breasts. Jenny figured Hershel better get ready, because her cousin was going to get a lot of attention today. Probably even more than Jenny. And for once Jenny found she didn't really mind. As long as Andrew only had eyes for her, she didn't care how many boys looked at Dixie' boobs.

They climbed up on to the stage one by one. Hershel always stood in the middle because he was the only boy. People in the crowd were starting to clap and cheer. A few of them were whistling, to show their approval of how good all the women looked. Jenny held her bow with her mother behind her. This was the first year that Deanna wasn't around to plan and control everything, and Jenny was excited to see how things were going to go. Big tents were set up with tons of tables under them that Jenny knew would be filled with food once the ceremony part of the day was over. Speakers were set up for music, and lots of people already had drinks in their hands. The day of a big feast like this, they usually skipped breakfast and Jenny could fell her stomach start to grumble in protest. Carl walked up to the pole that held a microphone.

"I wanted to thank everyone for sharing in our celebration," he said, "Deanna was so good at making these speeches, there were a few years I know she brought me to tears." There was some mumured approval from the crowd. "I could never top that, so this year we are going to do something a little different." Jenny didn't know what to expect, and she guessed most people in the crowd were as interested as she was. Hershel's mom walked to the back of the stage and picked up a guitar. Then she took a place next to Carl. Jenny saw all the other moms were crowding in around her.

Beth played the first few notes softly on her guitar before she started to sing. She held the guitar awkwardly, resting against her large round stomach. It was only her voice at first.

"If I could tell the world just one thing..."

On the second line the other women joined in, singing softly at first, then getting louder as they grew more confident.

"It would be that we're all OK,

And not to worry cause worry is wasteful

And useless in times like these..."

Jenny could see her Aunt Ricky and her mother were starting to tear up. They had their arms around each other, like they were using each other for strength.

"I won't be made useless

I won't be idle with despair

I will gather myself around my faith

For light does the darkness most fear..."

MJ was looking up at his mom with a strange expression on his face. "I swear I never heard this song before," he told his dad, "but I feel like I know it." Most people would not have been able to tell, but MJ could see that his dad was trying hard to keep control of his emotions. His dad leaned in and spoke quietly into his ear.

"Your mom used to sing it to ya when you were a baby."

"And she would sing it to her belly when she was still pregnant with ya," his uncle added. RickyJo and Beth also used to sing it to him and Judith back at the prison. Daryl had not heard it in a long time, not since Dixie was a baby.

"My hands are small I know

But they're not yours they are my own

And I am never broken..."

Glenna felt Hershel's hand close around hers. She couldn't believe her mother was singing. Her mother never sang. But her Aunt Beth had told her that they used to sing together back when they were younger. After Glenna's dad died, her mom didn't want to sing anymore. But there she was, her arm around Beth, singing out for everyone to hear. And she looked younger and happier than Glenna had seen her look in a long time.

"Poverty stole your golden shoes

It didn't steal your laughter

And heartache came to visit me

But I knew it wasn't ever after..."

Hershel had heard his mother practicing the song, but he had not known what she was practicing for. Sometimes she just liked to learn new songs. He had ahold of Glenna's hand, and he reached for Sarah, who was on the other side of him. She had the hood of her dress up, and her long black hair hung out of it in one long braided rope. Her face was still red on one side, but most of it was covered by the side of the hood. When he touched her hand with his, she gripped his hand and held on tight.

"We'll fight, not out of spite

For someone must stand up for what's right

'Cause where there's a man who has no voice

There ours shall go singing..."

Maria watched her mom. She had her arm around Sarah's mom and they both looked close to tears. Maria had heard her mom sing silly little spanish songs around the house, but never anything like this before. It made her feel sad but hopeful at the same time. And when she looked out into the crowd, there were very few dry eyes to be found.

"My hands are small I know

But they're not your they are my own

I am never broken

In the end only kindness matters..."

As the lines and the chorus repeated again, Lori watched her parents. Her dad was the only man up there singing. And he was clinging onto her mom for dear life. But he was singing along with the rest of them, Lori could hear his voice, filling in the spaces, his tone lower than the rest of them.

"And I am never broken

We are never broken

We are God's eyes

God'd hands

God's mind

We are God's eyes

God's hands

God's heart..."

Jenny listened as the song tapered off, getting so quiet it was hard to make out the words. She was on the end, and she stepped close to Dixie, taking her hand.

"We are God's eyes

God's hands

God's eyes

We are God's hands."

With that Dixie gripped tight to Jenny's hand and took one of Glenna's from off of Hershel's arms. They were all linked now, and Jenny felt that same surge flow through her that she had the day before when they had all put their hands on Sarah's dog. People in the crowd were clapping and cheering and almost all their moms were crying and hugging. They stood in a chain, hands linked. And it seemed like people were as moved by that as they had been by the song. Jenny wondered if any of them could feel the powerful pulse that was running through Dixie's hand and into her body, making the roots of her hair tingle.

Dixie dropped her hands first, stepping forward to pick up her bow. The rest of them followed her example and did the same. They all strung their arrows back. Jenny noticed Dixie and Sarah had theirs marked, and they were really pulling them back hard. Jenny guessed they had decided on some sort of contest to see which one of them could shoot the furthest. Hershel gave them a one, two, three and then they all let their arrows go. Even Glenna had a small bow she was shooting with this year. They sailed over the walls and into the woods on the other side of the gate. What came next was something none of them were expecting.


	38. Chapter 38

Hershel

A loud high pitched shrieking sound got everyone's attention. And then there was a loud boom. A big burst of colored lights appeared above the town. A few people ducked and covered their heads. Hershel was one of them, but when he looked around, he saw that his mom and the rest of the old world people did not seem to be bothered by the display. When he heard the next squealing noise, he was ready for the show. This time the burst of lights was green. A few more went off after that and then it was quiet. People clapped and cheered, it had been a long time since any of them had seen fireworks, and for most of the younger people it was the first time.

"We have more fireworks," Carl spoke into the microphone, "but we are going to save them for later when it is dark out." Hershel could tell people liked that idea, since a few of them yelled out comments to that effect. "Now its time for the weddings." With that Carl climbed down off the stage. This meant the other people on the platform were free to get down themselves and go join their families. The couples waiting to get married were standing off to the side in a small group. There was a minister from Hilltop that was going to perform most of the ceremonies. For those people that didn't want a religious ceremony, the leader of their camp or Carl, as the leader of the hosting camp would say the words for them.

The weddings were short and not especially formal. Each couple got up and said what they wanted to say to each other, the crowd was asked to accept the union, and then the couple was declared married. When each couple got up to say their words, close friends and family would move in and crowd around. Judith was the only person from Alexandria that was getting married this summer, and so she had the honor of being first. Hershel saw MJ leave the crowd and head off down the street, making himself scarce. Just because he had made his peace with Judith's choice, didn't mean he wanted to actually watch her marry someone else.

Hershel was much less concerned with the weddings and much more concerned with getting close to Dixie and staying close to her. And making sure no other men tried talking to her. He could already see them looking at her and that was bad enough. He put his arm around her waist, resting his hand on her hip. Since the back of her dress was open, he could feel the bare skin of her back with his thumb. She moved closer too him, resting her head on his shoulder and then moving to stand in front of him so he could wrap both his arms around her while they watched the weddings.

Merle was watching the two of them out of the corner of his eye, trying not to make it too obvious. He thought about having a little fun, maybe giving the kid some shit about leaving hickeys all over his daughter. But as much as he hated to admit it, the young couple looked rather sweet together. And Dixie looked happy. So he left them alone. If Hershel stuck by her all day, at least it might discourage some of the older men from out of town from talking to her. The year before she had gone wandering off with some man to look at the kittens he had in his tent. Daryl had thrown a fucking fit and made a complete ass out of himself, especially since the man had brought out a small cage that was in fact full of newborn kittens that he had in his tent. The little white kitten Jenny ended up with had been in there.

Hershel liked holding Dixie close. But with that much skin exposed, along with them not having finished what they started that morning, he moved her so she was next to him instead. "Can't hold ya like that out here," he whispered to her, "goin' to get a damn hard on." Dixie snorted in laughter and turned it into a cough before people could start giving her dirty looks for being disruptive. She leaned back and pulled at Hershel so she could whisper back into his ear.

"After the food once everyone starts drinking, we can sneak away for a while." He squeezed at her side to let her know he approved highly of that plan. The problem now was to keep from thinking about it until it was time. Thankfully Glenna walked over and stood on the other side of him.

"Have you guys seen MJ?," she asked quietly. Dixie leaned across Hershel.

"He didn't want to see the weddings," Dixie told her, "don't worry he will be back in a bit." Glenna nodded. She thought about how sad she would be if she had to watch him get married to someone else. And she was very sad for him. But for purely selfish reasons, she was happy about the wedding. If Judith was getting married and moving to Hilltop, that meant she wasn't going to be getting back together with MJ. Glenna felt Hershel throw his free arm around her shoulders. And she smiled up at him.

"Save a dance for me later?," Hershel asked his cousin. She nodded. Her hair was pulled away from her face and hung over one shoulder in a long braid. The dress she had on fit her well, it was lace on the top and sleeves and low enough in front to show the tops of her breasts. The rest of it was loose and flowy. But the biggest difference was in her face. She looked happy. When people she didn't know smiled at her, she was smiling back now, instead of cowering behind her mother. Hershel couldn't help but hope that it had something to do with whatever was going on between her and MJ. Thinking of the two of them together made him happy for them both. Hershel didn't want to get too greedy with his wishes for happiness. But if he could fix things any way he wanted, he would marry Dixie, Glenna could marry her brother, and they could all live in a big house together close to their families.

Hershel's dad had gone to stand up with Judith during her ceremony, so his mother came and stood next to them on the other side of Dixie. She had her hands on the small of her back and was trying to stretch out a little without being to ridiculous about it. Hershel watched Dixie smile at his mother. Then she was touching her swollen belly, trying to feel the baby kick. Dixie's face lit up in excitement, and he guessed she must have felt something. She was so delighted, even his mom smiled at her, and Hershel knew she was weeks past the point of being excited about the giant baby growing inside her. They measured pregnancies by the phases of the moon. And her ninth full moon had been two weeks ago. He knew if she went much longer, Maria or her mom might make her something to try and get her labor going.

The last wedding was wrapping up. Hershel signaled to his brother to get ready to get the music going. Usually Hershel took care of the music for the festival. But doing that and being in the ceremony could be a overwhelming. Plus, if he was behind the table switching the CD's he wouldn't be able to dance with Dixie. So when his brother had offered to help, Hershel had been more than happy to turn the task over to him. From how big and proud Shawn was smiling behind the music table, Hershel knew he had made the right choice.

People clapped for the happy couples. Hershel motioned to his brother and the music started. It blasted on too loud at first, making people jump, but Shawn turned a few knobs and got control of it. Hershel smiled at his brother and gave him the thumbs up. At least the song was right, something slow for the newly married couples to slow dance to. Hershel saw Dixie's mom hurrying off towards the bar, the people she had recruited to help her with the food were already there, or going with her.

The main bulk of the meal was going to be that big boar Dixie and Sarah got a few days before. It had been butchered up and put in the smoker all night. Plus there was all the shrimp that Seaside brought. That had been steamed and put in the fridge so people could eat it cold and dipped in a spicy red pepper sauce. Hershel knew his mom had been baking pies all week. And Sarah's mom usually made a wedding cake that got brought out later. Almost everyone brought something to add to the feast, and Hershel liked to poke around, getting a taste of all the things that he had never seen prepared before. But for now, he wanted to do was what he had been waiting to do all day.

He caught hold of Dixie's hand and pulled her out of the crowd and into the space that had been set up for dancing. Since that night in the bar when he had been so nervous that he had been turning her in awkward little circles, afraid to put his arms around her, he had been wanting to dance with her again. She laughed and let him pull her into his arms. He was a much better dancer than she remembered from the last time. Now he held her close, one hand on the bare skin of her lower back, his little finger dipping dangerously close to the curve of her ass. Her held her hand to his chest with his other hand and pressed his cheek to the side of her forehead. He was freshly shaved for the festival and she noticed the difference in the texture of his skin. She closed her eyes, wishing they were alone. Her arm was wrapped around him and she was touching the back of his neck, stroking the soft blonde curls of his hair.

"I think we know who's wedding we'll be going to next year," Beth commented to Merle, who was standing close by. She figured he would have some inappropriate witty comment for her, but he just smiled. "Going soft on me?," she asked. That brought on some laughter.

"Never," he assured her. "Don't know about a weddin', but I think I got some idea where all those hickeys came from." Beth held her stomach and laughed. She had to have Hershel take his shirt off to fix one of the buttons, and his whole chest and parts of his back had been covered in love bites. There were so many, that for a minute she was scared he might have the damn measles. She guessed Dixie was probably covered in them too. To be that young and that in love again, it made her so happy for them.

"Yer Hershel, he's a good boy, reminds me of yer dad." Beth guessed that was Merle's way of giving his approval over her son's relationship with his daughter. Not that it mattered, they both knew Dixie would do whatever she pleased regardless of what anyone thought about it. But having everyone happy for them was good for the young couple. Beth felt Merle's arm go around her shoulders and he hugged her to the side of him just for a second before he quickly let go. She never saw him show and physical affection to anyone outside his immediate family, so the gesture surprised her. Not really in a bad way, it was just unusual behavior for him. And he didn't look drunk yet either. Beth chanced one more touch, giving his hand a quick squeeze with her own. He pretended not to notice, but she could see he was smiling. Then he turned away without a word and headed for the bar. Beth shook her head and went back to watching the dancing.

Hershel had his eyes closed, holding Dixie close to him. He was wishing this was his wedding and that they would get to go home and live together after the party was over. Then he started to feel a strange sensation under his feet. He almost didn't notice it at first but the ground was vibrating. His first thought was that someone was driving a large truck through the area. But then he heard the screams. When he turned there were frightened horses everywhere. People were jumping back, running towards the buildings, trying to get away so they didn't get trampled. Somewhere a small child was screaming. Then Dixie was gripping him hard by the arm and pulling him towards the platform. He boosted her up and climbed up behind her. They would be alright up there, the horses would be likely to run around the structure. Then Dixie was running for her bow and arrows that she had left lying on the stage after the ceremony. She saw him before Hershel did. MJ was bareback on one of the horses, his shirt torn. The thought crossed Hershel's mind that this was some kind of prank, but the other boy did not look like he thought this was funny. He looked scared. More scared than Hershel had ever seen him look before. And he was screaming something out over the scattered crowd.

"WALKERS! WALKERS! THEY'RE COMING! EVERYONE RUN!"


	39. Chapter 39

Glenna

The small herd of horses ran through, causing people to scatter and panic. But once they heard MJ yelling about the walkers, the people from Alexandria started running for their weapons. Glenna tried to run for the platform, like she had seen Hershel and Dixie do, but a horse charged through, nearly trampling her and making her fall back onto her ass on the pavement. She screamed and covered her head as another horse jumped over her. MJ was yelling at her from yards away on his horse.

"Get up Glenna, get up and run!" Then she saw a hand appear in front of her face. She groped for it without caring who's hand it was and felt herself pulled to her feet.

"This way," Sarah told her, keeping hold of her hand and pulling her quickly towards the foot tent and around behind the tables. Glenna could see people were starting to try and get control of the situation. Maria's dad had a gun and he was yelling out orders.

"Get all the kids over by the platform," he hollered. Glenna could feel the ground rumbling under her feet. Something was coming, and she could smell them before she saw them. It was walkers, maybe close to a hundred of them, coming down the road from the same direction that the horses came from. Hershel's mom had his two twin brothers, one in her arms and the other she was pulling by the hand, heading for the platform. Glenna saw Dixie and Hershel jump down and run to help her. Lori was herding some of the other little kids in the same direction.

Glenna could see everyone else was gearing up, starting to fire guns at the herd of walkers that was coming down the road at them. MJ's dad tossed him a handgun and he was firing at them from the back of his horse. More people were running up with guns, holding the line and taking the walkers down one at a time. When they started getting in too close for people to shoot at them, people started fighting them hand to hand. Andrew and Greg from Seaside had managed to get on the backs of two of the horses, and they rode through, using the long curved blades they had to decapitate any walkers that came close enough. Sarah had a kitchen knife she had taken from the buffet table, and when a stray walker got too close to them, she kicked its knee out and stomped on it, stabbing it through the ear with a sickening cracking noise.

The little kids and many of the younger people from Hilltop that didn't know how to fight were crowded in front of the platform. Dixie, Hershel and Lori were shooting down any walkers that came close with their bows. Jenny and Maria ran from around the back of the bar with shotguns to help them.

"My parents?," Sarah asked frantically, "do you see them anywhere?" Glenna scanned the surging crowd.

"There!," she pointed. Sarah's stepdad had her mother and brother behind him and he was swinging a chair at a walker, trying to keep it back. With that, Sarah jumped the table and ran for them. She ducked through the crowd, stabbing a walker up under it's chin when it got in her way. When she got to her family she grabbed the chair from Eugene and smashed it hard against the walker, knocking the walker to the ground and shattering the chair to bits. Then she grabbed one of the broken chair legs and stabbed the thing hard through the head. Glenna saw her grab her mother's hand and run with them towards the group in front of the platform.

The mass of the herd was intermingled with the people fighting them now. But they were being taken down. Glenna saw Dixie's dads with their backs to each other, stabbing at them with hunting knives. And that black woman from the Kingdom was swinging a sword so fast her movements looked like a blur. The huge tiger that she kept with her was jumping on top of the walkers and ripping them apart with its teeth and claws. Lori's parents had climbed up on top of the bar and they were shooting into the herd with sniper rifles, trying to help out anyone that was getting swarmed. Then Glenna heard a loud racket coming from the front gates. MJ and Judith were both on horses, blowing air horns, trying to draw as many of the walkers as they could out the front gates and away from town. It was working too, a large part of the herd had turned towards the noise and was heading for the front gates.

Glenna heard another loud scream. It was coming from Maria's mother, she was pinned on the ground, two walkers on top of her. Maria's dad ran for her, stabbing one of them through the head and grabbing the other by the shirt, yanking it off Rosita and hurling it to the ground. Then he stomped it's head in with his boot. Maria's mom got back on her feet and they ran back into the fight. Dixie's mom and Aunt were in front of the bar. They were standing feet apart, shoulders back, firing shot after shot out of their handguns. Jenny's dad was staying close to them, beating any walkers that got too close to the women in the head with a broomstick.

The fight wasn't over yet, but Glenna could see the people were making ground. It would not be long and all the walkers would be dead or outside the front gates. Glenna scanned the crowd looking for her mother, and was relieved when she saw her crouching on the ground next to her Aunt Beth holding onto one of the twins. There was a little blood on her arm, but otherwise she looked fine. Then Glenna glanced down the street behind them.

What she saw made all her blood turn ice cold in her veins. Her body locked up and every hair on her body was standing on end. Another herd was coming down the street. It looked like a least a hundred more walkers. And in the middle of the herd was the man in the mask. He stuck out above them, arms stretched out, head back. Glenna couldn't tell if he was floating or being carried along by the snarling herd of his undead army.

Her hand came down on the table in front of her, and when Glenna looked at what she had closed her hand on, she saw it was a large box of salt. Something about the salt was significant, but in her panic, it took her a moment to sort out her thoughts. Then it came to her. One of her books said you could protect yourself from the evil magic with a circle of salt. She grabbed the box and ran, tripping over one of the tent ropes and falling hard, skinning her elbows on the hard ground. Then she was scrambling to her feet, taking the box with her. When the small crowd saw Glenna charging at them, looking panicked and scared many of them turned to look behind them. And then they all started yelling at once.

Glenna made it to the small group. She ripped the top off the box of salt, tearing one of her nails down to the quick. Then she was shoving people out of her way, dumping the tiny white grains out into the road, making a circle large enough for all the children to stand inside. Hershel caught on to what she was doing. He started yelling for people to get inside the circle, picking up the kids and placing them inside if they were too scared to move on their own. He didn't know why, she knew nothing about what was going on or why they would be safe inside the circle, but he saw his mom kneel down in the middle and start calling all the children to her. They crowded in, eager to get close to someone that made them feel safe. Sarah shoved her parents inside, yelling at them not to ask her any questions.

"Everyone inside the circle," Jenny screamed, "grab hands." She didn't know how she knew what to do, she just knew. The seven of them scrambled to get into formation, putting their toes on the inside of the line of salt that was sprinkled with the blood from Glenna's ripped fingernail. They grabbed for each other. Glenna could hear her Aunt Beth praying behind her. The herd of walkers was almost on them. The ones in the front were coming around the edges of the platform, heading straight at them like they were on a mission.

Glenna caught hold of Hershel on her right side and Jenny on her left. When she got ahold of Jenny, she felt the surge. The circle was complete.

"What do we do now?," Sarah yelled out.

"Believe!," Dixie yelled. Glenna held hard to the hands she had a grip on. And then she felt it. Like she was rising up onto her tiptoes, but her body was moving on it's own. Hershel was squeezing her hand so hard it was going to leave the small moon shaped impressions of his fingernails when he finally let go.

Only the tips of her toes were touching the ground now. Glenna held her breath as the first walker got close enough to come at them. It was wet and musty with an old dried smear of blood across the front of it. When it hit the circle, the walker bounced back like someone that had run into a glass door they didn't know was there. The sound it made reminded Glenna of the sound she heard when she had seen one of Dixie's dads trying to see if a pair of spark plugs were working. He had slapped them together and sparks flew off. That was the noise the walker made when it smashed up against their circle. And when it fell to the ground, it didn't get back up.

"It's working," Jenny yelled out. Then she called out a few choice words to the walker on the ground. The walkers came at them in a wave, each one smashing against the invisible barrier and flopping to the ground. Within a few minutes, there was a circle of dead walkers around them at least three or four bodies deep.

Then Glenna saw the man come around the corner. He was floating, only his tiptoes touching the ground just like hers were. When he saw them, he lowered his arms and came down, walking towards the small group slowly. There were so many walkers surging around him, he looked like he was in the eye of a storm. The mask obscured his facial features, but it wasn't hard to guess that he was not pleased with what he saw. His eyes peered out throught the holes in the mask that were lined in black, staring at the children that were ruining all his plans. The man uttered a few angry words, which Glenna guessed were curses in his language. Then she heard Dixie yell back at him.

"DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKER!"

Glenna felt the rush of energy flow through her towards Dixie. And then it must have rushed at the man, because for a moment, all his pet walkers held completely still. Then they were moving again. But the man was backing away from the group. He turned and headed for the front gates, taking his walkers with him.

"THAT'S RIGHT YOU BETTER RUN!," Dixie screamed after him, "CAUSE WHEN I CATCH YOU I AM GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!"

The man turned and pressed his hand to the mouth of his mask, then held it out, blowing her a little kiss. But he kept going towards the front gate. When the walkers were far enough away from the circle, they dropped hands. Glenna saw Jenny drop to the ground next to her. People near the gate stood back, watching in awe as the large herd ignored them completely and headed in mass out the front gate. Glenna almost fell once the soles of her feet hit the ground but she caught herself. She ran out in the middle of the road just in time to see MJ and Judith being dragged screaming off their horses and carried away by the herd.


	40. Chapter 40

Sarah

Dixie was screaming, "he took my brother! He took my brother!" Sarah grabbed her. Carl would organize a search party. Everyone would go looking for MJ and Judith. But by the time they found them it would be too late. And they would be dead.

"We know where he took him," Sarah reminded her. Dixie's face changed from despair to hopeful.

"We can get guns from the safe in the bar," Dixie said.

"Then over the back wall," Sarah added, "if they see us going, your parents will try and stop us." Dixie nodded. She and Sarah could use some help. And they needed it now. Hershel nodded to them and stepped forward to stand next to Dixie. She put her arm around his waist.

"One of them might be hurt, "Maria said, " I will get my med bag from the infirmary and meet you in the back of the bar." Without waiting for a response, she took off running, dodging around dead walkers and jumping over the ones she couldn't dodge. Lori nodded, looking scared but determined.

"I'm in too," Jenny said. Then she took off her necklace and set it down on the edge of the platform. Glenna stared at them. She made no move to join them, so they started running towards the bar without her. They were going to have to get the guns and get out quick, before everyone else got organized and figured out what they were doing. Sarah followed Dixie down into the basement of the bar with the others close behind. They loaded up, each taking a rifle or shotgun they could wear across their backs on a strap and then handguns that they strapped on to their ankles or legs. Hershel knew where they were going, so he took a flashlight and put it in his pocket. Sarah took an extra clip for her gun and shoved it into her bra. Then they took extra guns for Maria. They ran back up the stairs. When they got to the top, Glenna was standing near the door, her face pale white.

"I'm going," she said. She expected some objection, especially since she knew she would slow them down. But Dixie only nodded. If Hershel had been taken, there was no one on this earth that would stop her from going after him. And she knew how Glenna felt about her brother. Maria showed up, out of breath. Sarah handed her the extra rifle and gave the extra handgun to Glenna. She hoped the girl knew how to use it. Then they headed for the wall. Dixie went up first. When she swung her leg over the top of the wall, the slit in her dress ripped and split all the way up to her hip. Maria reached up under the ruffled part of her dress and took off the underskirt that made it poof out away from her body. Then she and Sarah went up. Sarah climbed like a cat, Her long hair swinging as she moved. When she got to the top she called down.

"Glenna next," she said, "we can spot her from the other side" Glenna knew this was not a question. She started climbing, aware that the people still on the ground were getting a good view of her backside and not really caring. She swung her leg over the top, her bare skin rubbing against the hot metal of the wall. Then she went down the other side. She felt Sarah and Dixie's hands on her to steady her when she got the bottom. Then Jenny and Lori's heads popped up from the other side. Hershel climbed over last, jumping the last few feet to the ground. There was no discussion about who was in charge, Sarah and Dixie knew the way. Everyone else followed quickly behind them.

They pushed throught the dense undergrowth of the woods, scatching their bare legs and arms on bushes and prickers, until they got to the hunting trail. Then they were able to move quicker. Sarah set the pace, and Sarah was fast. She had to slow down a few times when she heard the other kids breathing hard in their attempt to keep up with her. She found the small clearing where she had seen the man before. From there she was able to follow his previous trail down to the bog. It was quite a bit more trampled down since Dixie and Hershel had come crashing through the last time. But they still had to walk single file. There was a soft rustling noise behind her, and she knew it was the ruffles on Maria's dress brushing against the bushes as she walked. Sarah was glad when she looked back and saw Hershel pulling up the rear so he could watch and make sure none of them lagged behind. When Sarah got close enough to the bog that she could smell it, she slowed down. Glenna sat down hard and leaned her back against a tree, trying to catch her breath. Sarah knelt down and hid behind the bushes, creeping closer to get a look before she charged out. Dixie crowded in next to her.

Dixie had one knee up, her leg bare from her sandals to her hip, her arm resting on her knee. Sarah crouched, her dress tight around her legs, keeping her from moving as freely as she would have liked. They didn't hear any voices, but they could hear the sound of many silent people walking at the same time. The swish noises of their clothes and then little splashes of water.

The large group of walkers that had gone out the front gates of town was marching through. They walked down into the bog until they were fully submerged and stayed there. The last few were in an area so shallow Sarah could see the tops of their heads and their cold dead eyes peeking out above the water. They reminded her of aligators, crouching low in the water, blending into the moss and waiting for un unsuspecting victim before they struck.

"Well, now we know why the water smells so bad," Dixie whispered.

"Do you think they took MJ down into the water?," Sarah asked her. Dixie shook her head. She pointed to the drainage pipe.

"The man took them in there." Sarah felt a shiver crawl up her back. There was one thing that she hated more than any other thing in the world. And that was small enclosed spaces. Just the thought of going into that pipe made her feel like she couldn't breathe. Then she thought about the time she fell out of that tree by the lake. MJ had picked her up and ran all the way back to town with her in his arms, and no shoes on his feet. His feet had been so torn up by the time he got her back that he had to stay in the infirmary right along with her.

"You don't have to go in," Dixie said.

"Yes I do," Sarah told her. Dixie squeezed her hand and nodded.

"What are we going to do about them?," Hershel asked, crowding in and pointing to the bog walkers.

"Hopefully they will stay put," Sarah said. The walkers had probably been down in the water last time they were here and they had never even known it. The thought made Sarah shiver.

"You and Lori," Dixie said to Hershel, "clear the entrance and then stay there and help boost everyone up inside." Hershel nodded. He and Lori were the tallest with the most upper body strength. So they would be the best for the job. Lori came out from behind Maria. Then she and Hershel darted out of the bushes. They held their handguns ready, keeping an eye on the bog. But so far nothing inside it moved. The branches that had been in front of the pipe were tossed to the side, so they just had to look inside and make sure nothing was right inside the entrance. Once they looked, Heshel turned and motioned for the rest of them to come out.

Sarah ran at the pipe, knowing if she thought about what she was going to do before she did it that she would lose her nerve. She handed her gun to Hershel and then jumped, catching the top lip of the pipe in her hands and swinging inside. He handed her gun back and she took a few steps inside, watching to make sure that nothing was coming at them from inside.

Dixie came up next, Hershel boosted her in with his hands. From the look on his face and he lifted her inside, Sarah knew he was battling some hard emotions. She imagined he felt about how she would if she was somehow forced to shove Wolf inside this pipe. Maria was lifted inside, and then Sarah heard Jenny give a little shriek.

"They are coming up out of the water," she called out in a panic, "oh fuck, there are a lot of them."

Glenna was shoved forcefully inside and half carried, half dragged away from the opening by the other girls. Then Jenny popped up, using the lip to swing quickly inside and landing gracefully on her feet. Hershel and Lori climbed in together. They all moved back and away from the opening, waiting to see if anything was going to come in after them. As they moved further away from the light, Sarah felt herself breathing harder and faster. The pipe was the same size around as it was at the opening, but in Sarah's mind it was getting smaller and smaller, closing in around her. She backed up, her feet splashing into the little thin river of putrid water that was puddled up at the base of the pipe. Her head bumped into the top curve of the pipe. She was breathing hard now, her breath coming out in little whistling noises as she gasped for air. She felt Maria grip her arm.

"It's a panic attack," Maria told her quietly, "breathe through it, it won't kill you. In through the nose and out through the mouth." Sarah nodded. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing, making it slow and even. He heart was beating hard in her chest. She forced herself to think about outside, fresh air and sunshine, climbing trees and swimming in the lake. Anything but where she was.

Hershel was near the edge of the pipe, his gun pointed at the opening. The head of a walker appeared, dripping wet and slimy from the bog water. When it started to climb inside the pipe, Hershel shot it. The back of it's head exploded and the noise rang out loud, echoing through the pipe. The walker fell backwards, splashing into the water behind it. The girls covered their ears, wincing at the loud metalic noise. The gunshot must have echoed down into the pipes, because from far away deep inside, they heard Judith scream for help.


	41. Chapter 41

Maria

The scream for help echoed up through the tunnels. Maria was scared by how far away it sounded. None of them wanted to go that deep inside these pipes. She was scared they might not be able to find their way out if they went that far in. There was a moment of silence followed by another scream. This time it was the scream of someone in terrible pain.

Another walker was climbing up into the tunnel with them. This time Hershel got closer and kicked it hard in the chest, knocking it back out of the opening. Then he pushed past the girls to where Dixie was standing, covering their backs. There was not enough room in the tunnel for them to stand side by side comfortably. When Hershel pushed past, the girls had to lean out of his way with their hands on the curved sides of the pipe. And the pipe was filled with a terrible smell. Maria knew the smell. Once a man had come back from a trading mission with a badly injured leg. The wound had not been cleaned properly and it had festered. The only way to save his life had been to cut off the leg to keep the infection from spreading. And the smell coming off his leg had made her run from the table and hurl the contents of her stomach into a waste basket. That's what this tunnel smelled like. Rotting human flesh and disease.

Hershel clicked on the flashlight. It shone bright into Maria's eyes, blinding her.

"Sorry," he told her, shining it away from her face and down into the tunnel. Sarah was leaning back against the side of the pipe, her breathing finally starting to slow down. Maria took her by the hand. It felt strange to be offering Sarah her support. Sarah was the one that never needed help from anyone. But she took Maria's hand and squeezed it.

"We better go," Jenny said from closer to the opening, "more of them are trying to come in after us." With that Hershel took the lead with the flashlight, Dixie close behind him. They slowed down when they got to a spot where another tunnel met up with the one they were in. Maria saw Dixie and Hershel were both looking up at the top of the pipe. They backed up quickly as a walker dropped down from above them. Hershel stepped on it's neck and Dixie beat it's head in with the butt of her rifle. The flashlight shook and moved, giving Maria a shattered view of what was happening. Dixie stood back up straight and tucked her breasts back down into her dress. Above them was a grated opening that was letting in a little sunlight from above. The beams of light reflected off Dixie's sparkly party dress, making little dancing fireflies on the walls of the tunnel. A smaller tunnel lead off to the right. They would have to crawl if they wanted to take that way. And Maria wasn't sure if Glenna could fit through at all.

"I don't think he went that way," Maria said. There was no way a large group of walkers carrying two unwilling guests could get in there.

"Me either," Dixie added. Sarah sighed in relief. There was no way she was going in that tiny tunnel. The one they were in was bad enough, and she could stand all the way up in it.

They stepped over the dead walker and kept moving. Not only were they afraid of the bog walkers that might be coming in behind them, but they also knew they had the best chance of finding MJ and Judith alive if they found them fast. Maria listened closely to Sarah's breath, saying a silent prayer that the girl didn't start to panic more the deeper they went into this maze of tunnels. So far, she seemed like she was doing alright. The bottom of Maria's dress was wet with water from the bog, and it bumped into her ankles as she walked. She wiped her sweaty palms on her dress one at a time, keeping a firm grip on her gun.

They could see up ahead there was another spot where the light was filtering in from above and they approached it slowly. Hershel and Dixie were watching the ceiling in case another walker was waiting to drop down on them. They didn't see the snake until it was too late.

"Don't move a muscle," Sarah told them. She could tell by the shape of the snakes head and the distinctive brown and copper markings that it was a copperhead. And a big one too. Dixie was standing practically on top of it. If she moved quick, she was going to get bit. Maria watched the other girl. She was clinging to Hershel's hand. She took one look down at the snake and shook in fear. Tears started rolling down her face.

"Oh my god get it off me get it off me fuck get it away from me," she whispered. Maria knew if any of them got bit, they were going to die down here. There would be nothing she could do for them. Even at the infirmary, healing a venomous snake bite was tricky business.

"Give me your knife," Sarah told her. Maria reached slowly into her med bag and pulled out a large hunting knife, taking it slowly out of the sheath before handing it to Sarah. Sarah gripped the knife. Then she slowly moved towards Dixie and the snake. Dixie was crying. She could feel the thing slithering against the bare skin of her feet and ankles.

"Don't move," Sarah told her again. Then she creeped in closer, moving a little bit at a time. Maria could see she was trying to get closer to the head of the snake. Suddenly she moved, stomping down fast with her foot and pinning the snake to the side of the pipe right behind its head. She came down quick with her hand, stabbing it several times in the head before turning the knife the other way and chopping its head off. The snakes body started convulsing and that's all Dixie could take. She leaped away from it, shrieking and cursing.

"I fucking hate snakes so much! It touched me with its snake parts!" Hershel pulled her into his arms, trying not to laugh about the snake parts comment. This was not really a good time for making jokes. As soon as they got MJ out of here safe, Hershel was so going to tell him about all this. And then the two of them were going to have a good laugh about it.

"It's dead," Sarah said, picking up the now limp body of the snake to show her. Dixie shrieked again.

"Stop touching it," Maria told her, "you are just scaring her more." Sarah tossed the snake back down.

"Let's go," I don't want to be down here longer than we need to be," Sarah said. Dixie nodded, trying to collect herself. There was another pipe that lead away from the main one. But it was as small as the last one, so they decided not to take it. Hershel took hold of Dixie's hand and headed deeper into the tunnel. Maria could tell everyone was being more careful where they stepped, including her. Not only were there snakes down here, there might also be spiders, rusty nails, or a hundred other things she didn't want to step on.

They had been walking a long time without passing another vent. It was getting darker and darker. If they didn't hae the flashlight, Maria knew she would not be able to see her hand in front of her face. And she felt like they might be on a slight incline. Hershel shined his light on something up ahead. It was a lump of white fabric. They got closer. Hershel poked at the fabric with the tip of his shoe. Then Dixie stuck the end of her rifle under the material, lifting it up.

"What is it?," she asked. Maria heard Lori gasp behind her.

"It's Judith's wedding dress," Lori said, her voice barely above a whisper, "oh hell." The fabric was ripped and torn, and in a few spots it was sprinkled in blood. Dixie dropped it back down like it was another snake that might bite her. Maria felt the same. She would give anything in that moment not to know what they had just found. It made her sick to think of her friend, naked and surrounded by walkers and an evil man that had no respect for human life.

"At least we know we are going the right way," Glenna offered. Her words had the desired affect. Hershel charged ahead with renewed determination. Maria was sure she could feel it now, they were on an incline. But where the hell were they going.


	42. Chapter 42

LoriAnn

Lori was walking behind Glenna. She could see over the top of the other girl's head, but the only view that gave her was of the single beam of light that was being pointed around at the tunnel in front of them. The only sound was the ragged breathing of the girls around her and the little clicking noises Jenny's shoes were making against the metal pipe. Being down in this pipe reminded Lori of what she knew about mining. It was one of the things she learned when she was training to be a blacksmith. And she kept thinking about how the miners would take a canary down into the mines with them. If the bird dropped dead, they would know the air was bad. Then it would give them time to get out. She didn't have a canary. And Lori could tell by the way she felt like she was gasping for air even though she could breath just fine that there might not be enough fresh air down in this tunnel.

Then it hit her. A rush of fresh air. She gulped it down and then ran right into Glenna's back. Everyone in the front had stopped short for some reason, causing the rest of them to bottleneck up behind them. Then Lori heard them forge ahead with a lot of splashing noises. When she got closer, she could see the tunnel had opened up into a larger space. It was a square room, walled in concrete. Three other tunnels like the one they were in led away from it. There was about a foot of standing water in the bottom of it. Glenna hopped down with a loud splash, and Lori climbed down behind her. The girls huddled together, while Hershel walked to the entrance of each tunnel and shined the light inside, trying to figure out which way to go. All the tunnels looked the same.

He shined the light into the one on their left again and Lori swore she caught a glimpse of something shiny that had reflected the light back. She thought at first it might just be the eyes of some small animal that was hiding down here. But she wanted to be sure.

"Shine it back in there," Lori said, approaching Hershel. He turned back and shined the light down the tunnel again. "On the ground there," Lori said, putting her hand over his to guide the light. She was right, there was something there. It was small, but it was shiny. Hershel kept the light steady while Lori stepped up into the pipe and headed towards the object she had seen. She picked it up, turning it over in her hands. Then she held it up for everyone to see.

"They went this way," she said.

"How do you know?," Dixie asked her.

"Because this is Judith's wedding ring." The light had been reflecting off the large diamond stone in the middle of it. Lori's voice was shaky and it was easy to see she was worried for her Aunt. Most of them were close to tears. Maria climbed up into the pipe with her.

"Here," she said, holding out her hand, "I can put the ring in my bag. When we find Judith, she is going to want it back." Lori nodded. She handed the ring to Maria and the girl carefully tucked it away in a small pocket on the side of her bag. Then she wrapped her arms around Lori, hugging her tightly. They were all feeling the same thing. That it was pointless to be down here. That Judith and MJ might already be dead. That maybe they should give up and get out before they got killed too.

"We are going to get her back," Maria said.

"You are fucking right we are," Dixie hollered from down in the mucky water. "And the freak that took my brother is going to get a genuine ass whooping." With that she hopped up into the pipe. "Gimme the damn flashlight." Hershel gladly handed it over. Without waiting for everyone to climb up, Dixie charged off down the pipe, mumbling curse words to herself. Lori and Maria followed behind her.

They were making good time now, and this pipe was not as wet as the last one they had been in. Lori was staying close to Dixie, looking back to make sure everyone else was keeping up with them. Then they came to the end of the pipe. The opening was covered in a thick metal grate. They could see through it, but they was no way they could get past it.

"Maybe this was the wrong pipe," Lori said. Dixie shined her light through, looking around on the other side.

"No, this is the way," she said. She pointed the beam of light so Lori could see. There was a smear of fresh blood on the ground on the other side of the grate. Dixie handed Lori the light and shoved hard against the grate. It didn't budge so she tried kicking it with her foot. Hershel pushed past Lori and he and Dixie tried shoving at it together. Nothing worked. One by one people pushed forwards to try and shove or yank at the gate. They were getting tired and frustrated. Hershel had to drag Dixie away from the grate before she hurt herself slamming into it. Finally Glenna came through. She took the light from Lori.

Lori watched the girl as she leaned her head close to the grate, shining the light around the outer edges of it. Then she slipped her fingers through the grate, feeling around on the other side of it. She handed the light back to Lori. Then she gripped the grate firmly with her fingers. She pushed down with one hand and up with the other. There was a loud creaking noise as the grate turned.

"Try it now," she told them. Lori stepped forward and booted the grate with her foot. It fell down onto the ground on the other side with a loud clatter. That noise was followed by a loud cackle of eerie laughter coming from the tunnel ahead of them. Then there was a loud scream. Lori handed the flashlight back to Hershel. She swung her gun from where it was resting on her back and got a firm grip on it. Then she stepped through the smaller opening that the grate had been covering. When everyone else stepped out, they found themselves in some kind of hallway. The ground was level, but the ceiling was curved. There was room for two of them to walk side by side. But the hallway led in two different directions.

"Which way now?," Lori asked once everyone was out of the pipe. Hershel shined the light around. There was another smear of blood on the ground to the left.

"This way." Lori stayed next to him with her gun up. It wasn't too long before they saw the first walker. It came lurching away from the wall at them. Hershel kept the light on it and Lori used the butt of her gun to hit it hard in the chest, sending it falling backwards onto its back in the hall. Sarah was quick to step on it and stab it through the eye with the large knife she was holding. She heard another moan and backed up quickly. But nothing came after her. Then the rattle of metal on metal could be heard. Hershel lifted the beam of the flashlight up. There was a walker chained to the wall with its hands cuffed above its head. It was the body of a naked woman. Lori had the sickening feeling that the woman had not been a walker when that man brought her down here.

"Let me see the knife," Lori told Sarah. The girl handed it over and Lori used it to stab the woman walker through the head. Even if she was a walker, it wasn't right to leave someone like that. Every few feet they walked, they found another one. And Lori stabbed each one through the head. Some candles were light in the hall ahead of them, so Hershel turned the light off and put it in his pocket. They all had their guns out now, walking as quietly as possible down the hall. More light was spilling out from a doorway up ahead. The hallway was littered with garbage. Old cans of food with rotten remnants of food still in them. A bucket sat on one side of the hall that Lori was fairly sure held a few gallons of human waste. The smell was overpowering.

A small weak sounding moan came from inside the room. Lori took a few more steps, so that she was close enough to see inside. More stacks of food were piled up against the walls. There was a small table with one chair next to them. There was also a metal cot against the other wall. Judith was lying on top of it naked, her hands and feet bound to the corners with rope. She was struggling to free herself and her wrists were raw and bleeding. Dixie and Sarah charged into the room, pointing with their guns, making sure there was no one inside that was a threat to them. When Judith saw them, she started crying.

Lori ran for her and started untying the ropes. Judith's eyes were big and scared and when Lori followed her gaze, she saw that MJ was hanging from his wrists in the corner, blood dripping down from his head. One of his legs was bent at a very unnatural looking angle. Maria held a hand up, putting two fingers to his throat.

"He's still alive," she said, "lets get him down." Hershel and Sarah boosted Dixie up and she cut the rope that was suspending him in the air. When he fell, Glenna and Maria tried to catch him so he didn't just flop onto the concrete floor. Lori got Judith loose and Hershel took of his shirt and handed it to her. She buttoned it up, her hands shaking.

"Where's the man that brought you down here?," Lori asked her, "the man in the mask."

"I don't know," Judith said, "he left maybe ten minutes ago." Lori could see that everyone else was occupied with helping MJ. Maria was working on him, trying to stop the bleeding. She ripped the bottom half of her dress off and started tearing it into shreds, using them as bandages. Maria had Sarah grip his leg by the knee and hold it steady. Then she took him by the ankle and started pulling at the broken leg, trying to reset the bones. Lori had to look away, she thought she was going to be sick. Just the noise of bones grinding was enough to turn her stomach. She didn't know how Maria could stand to do things like that. There was a satifsying little chunk noise and Lori head Maria sigh.

"Got it," she said. Maria had set bones before, but never two at once and never in these types of conditions. "I need something sturdy to bind to his leg." Dixie walked over and grabbed the man's wooden table, tossing it over on its side. Then she pounded at the tops of one of the table legs with the butt of her gun.

"This work?," she asked, holding up the round length of wood. Maria nodded. She took it and tied MJ's leg carefully to the wood. She wanted it to be tight enough to hold the leg in place, but not so tight that it would cut off his circulation. The wound on his head was patched up. And one of his shoulders was dislocated. But as long as they got him out of this place, he would live.

Lori saw Hershel back away, heading to the doorway to make sure the man wasn't out there, getting ready to send more of his pet walkers in after them. And that's when the man grabbed him.


	43. Chapter 43

Dixie

The bile started to rise up in her throat, burning as it went, and Dixie swallowed hard. Just looking at MJ's torn up leg was enough to make her sick, and that was without thinking about what may or may not have just happened to Judith. But she felt something else brewing deep down in her stomach, filling her up and pushing the disgust away. Anger. Looking at her brother lying there halfway to dead pissed her off. She clenched her fists, her face twisting up in that way that her mom always said made her look like her daddy Merle.

Hershel cried out from the doorway. The man had ahold of him, and he was standing in the doorway with a small knife to Hershel's throat. A million thoughts passed through Hershel's mind. That he might die. And that he had a ring in his pocket for Dixie that he was never going to get the chance to give her. He racked his brain trying to remember even just one move of the self defense training his dad had forced on him. But not a goddamn thing was coming to mind. It was a little late now, but he thought he should have paid more attention to those lessons instead of horsing around with his brothers. At the time, they just hadn't seemed important.

Then something came to mind. It wasn't something he learned from his dad, but something he had heard from his mother when she and Dixie's mom were teaching the girls to fight. _Dead weight is a lot harder to drag than someone who is on their feet. If someone bigger than you grabs you from behind, go limp._ It was hard to relax when someone had a knife to his throat but Hershel counted to three in his mind and then let every muscle in his body go lax like he had fainted.

Sure enough the man lost his grip on Hershel, cutting the side of his face with the tip of his knife as he slumped to the floor. Dixie was not aware that Hershel was playing possum. She believed the man had choked or hurt him badly enough to make him fall to the floor unconcious. She felt the anger burning hotter inside her. Dixie had never been quick to get angry, she usually brushed things off like they were funny. But once she was provoked past a certain point, something inside her took over. Her brother's limp body. Judith's naked legs sticking out from under Hershel's shirt. And Hershel, the man had hurt him too. She saw nothing but red. Not thinking about what might happen to her, she charged at the man, her body colliding with his with so much force that it hurled them both out into the hall.

A trail of fire snaked down her arm where the man's knife cut her tender flesh. But she didn't stop, she hit him over and over again, pounding him with her fists. Breaking his mask and shattering it to pieces, burying them into the skin of his face. She didn't see that a few of his pet walkers were closing in around them, moving in that jerky puppet way. Every time she brought her fists down, the walkers twitched, like he was having a hard time controlling them with a wild hellcat girl on top of him beating him so hard her knuckles bled. She felt the cold hands close around her shoulders, yanking her up and back towards the smell of death.

Then a loud gunshot rang out, echoing down and bouncing off the cement walls. Dixie felt the hands on her release their grip. The walker thumped to the floor next to the man. Another one came at her from the other direction. And before it got close, another shot blasted out in the close quarters. The walker's brains splattered against the wall behind it. Dixie turned towards the doorway, expecting to see that Hershel had come to her rescue. But he was still scrambling to get off the ground. Glenna was in the door, standing feet apart, holding her handgun in both hands. Her lips were quivering, but her hands were steady. Dixie felt her mouth drop open with shock. Last she knew, Glenna didn't even know how to load a gun, let alone make a head shots on a moving target.

Dixie looked down and saw the man was scooting backwards, trying to get away. Oh fuck no you don't she thought. She reached down and caught him by the leg, dragging him back towards the doorway, his ass sliding through the piles of garbage. He swiped at her with the knife, almost slicing her wrists. She let go and jumped back. The blood from the cut on her arm was running down past her wrist and dripping off the end of her fingers.

"Glenna, move!," Sarah hollered. Glenna backed out of the doorway as quickly as she could, flattening herself against the wall inside. Hershel saw Sarah with the knife, holding it by the blade like she meant to throw it. He scooted back and out of her way, scraping his heels against the floor with loud squeaking noises. As soon as he was out of her line of sight, Sarah threw the knife with as much force as she could, driving the blade through the man's forearm and burying it in the crumbling cement wall behind him.

"I'll take that," Dixie said, stepping close and grabbing the knife the man was holding. She stood over him with the knife, looking down at the man. He didn't seem so scary now, crying and grabbing at his arm. His face was bleeding where she had pounded her fists into him. Most of the mask had come off and she could see underneath he was no great evil. Just a dirty looking old black man with white hair and missing teeth. Dixie thought about how much she hated the man. "This is for what you did to my brother," she told him. Then she stabbed him in the shoulder, twisting the blade before yanking it back out. The man howled in pain, pain that he deserved. Then she felt Hershel's hands on her, pulling her back and away, taking the knife out of her hands.

"Enough," he said to her. There was no judgement in his voice, but he didn't want her doing something that she was going to regret later. The man deserved everything that she wanted to do to him. But that didn't make it right for her to do it. She felt stiff and rigid in his arms, her muscles tense. And then he felt her relax. She turned in his arms, hugging him. Then she was scrambling across the room to take MJ's head in her lap. Her tears fell down onto his face as she stroked his hair.

"What are we going to do about him?," Glenna asked, pointing to the man. Judith had been standing in the corner of the room, her back against the wall. But now she stepped forward. Her hands were still shaking and the makeup she had put on earlier in the day for her wedding was streaked down her face in muddy mascara tears. One of her feet had been cut when the man and his walkers dragged her down to his place, and she left smeary bloody footprints as she walked. She held her hand out for Glenna's gun. From the look on her face, Glenna knew she was not going to be refused.

Judith took the gun and stepped into the doorway, aiming it at the man. She fired once, hitting him in the crotch. Dixie saw Hershel jump, the muscles in his back going tense. But he kept watching. And so did the girls. Judith fired another shot into his chest. That one was a kill shot. The man fell back, his head lying near the bucket of filth. Judith watched as the blood drained out of him. It was then that Dixie realized then what the other girl was doing. You never ever let someone you loved turn, it had been drilled into them since they were children. Anytime someone got a fatal bite or died any other way, you had to kill the brain to make sure they didn't turn. It was everyone's worst nightmare to become one of the undead.

No one in the room said a word. They all stared at the man, waiting for him to reanimate. None of them had ever seen it happen. The man's body twitched. Then he was moving, growling and reaching for Judith. She fired the last shot into his brain, making sure he would never bother them again. Then she dropped the gun, sagging against the door frame. Lori moved quickly to help her.

"We need to get MJ home now," Maria said. Dixie nodded, but she wasn't sure how they were going to carry him. He was not only huge, but they had to be careful not to disturb his leg. Maria looked around the room for something they could use. "The blanket on the bed," she said, "we can lay him on it. If one person took each corner, we could carry him out without hurting him more." Dixie got up, grabbing for the blanket. That's when she saw her arm had been badly cut. Dixie sat down hard on the bed, feeling like all the energy had drained out of her. Maria took a roll of gauze out of her bag and a bottle of alcohol. She dumped the burning liquid over the cut. Dixie swore. That shit woke her up. Her arm was then quickly wrapped in the gauze. The same was done for Judith's foot.

Hershel and Lori picked MJ up and put him on the blanket that Dixie and Jenny spread out on the ground while Maria was tending to Judith. He moaned softly in pain, but he did not wake up. Glenna walked in front with the flashlight. Lori and Maria walked in the back, helping Judith. And the rest of them each took a corner of the blanket, walking carefully with MJ's long body swinging between them. They made it through the spot where the grate had blocked them before the flashlight went out.

Dixie could hear Glenna slapping it against the palm of her hand. It sprung to life again, then sputtered out. Not amount of shaking or smacking could make it turn back on. All of them had been outside at night. If you let your eyes adjust, the moon made enough light that you could at least see your hand in front of your face. But there was no moonlight in the tunnel. The darkness was total and it closed in, suffocating and oppressive. Maria fumbled blindy through her bag. She usually kept and emergency fire starting kit inside. She felt for the lumpy bag. Once she had her hands on it, she opened it carefully, poking inside for what she was looking for.

There was a quick scratching noise and then the tunnel was lit up in the flame of a match. Dixie looked across at Hershel. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I have two more matches," Maria told them.

"We will have to save them for when we get to that break where all the tunnels came together," Dixie said. There were nods all around. Then the light from the match flickered out. The tunnel only went straight, so it was easy to follow. Glenna trudged along, losing all sense of where they were inside the tunnel or how long they had been walking. Dixie remembered something she didn't want to mention. More walkers had followed them into the pipes from out of the bog. She listened closely for any sounds of groaning or shuffling. The only things she heard were the hard breathing of her friends and some faint popping noises coming from really far away, outside these tunnels. It sounded like a ton of guns being shot off at once. Normally they could try and smell for the dead, but down in this tunnel, everything smelled like death. Dixie wished she trade places with Glenna. That way she would be out in front if they did run into something. But the other girl was too big to walk side by side with Hershel though the narrow pipe.

There was a loud splash in front of them, and then a frightened yelp.

"Glenna?," Hershel called out, "are you alright?"

"I think I found the spot where the tunnels meet," Glenna called out from the floor. From the tone of her voice, Dixie could tell she was alright. Probably just covered in mucky water.

"Maria," Dixie called back, "we are going to need the light." Hershel and Dixie got as close as possible to the edge. When Maria lit the match, they were not going to have much time. And they needed to be able to see to get MJ safely into the other pipe.

"Ready..." Maria called out, "one, two, three!" She flicked the match against the scratch pad. The tunnel lit up around them. Hershel and Dixie stepped down quickly, moving back into the small space so Jenny and Sarah could climb down after them. They had enough time to rotate and get pointed at the right tunnel before Maria dropped the match, cursing because it burned her finger tips.

"Last one," she said. Then she lit the last match, standing in the opening of the pipe and holding it up high to give them as much light as possible. Just as Sarah and Jenny climbed up with their end of the bundle, the light went out. Dixie and Hershel moved forward, giving Lori, Judith and Maria enough room to climb up into the tunnel behind them but not going too far ahead until they were sure everyone was with them.

"Glenna," Dixie said, "take my rifle." She slipped it off her shoulder without letting go of the blanket. "Stick it out in front of you and swing it back and forth. If you hit anything, shoot it." Glenna groped for the rifle. Then she did as Dixie told her, swinging it side to side in front of her. More of the popping noises sounded from outside, louder now that they were closer to the end of the pipe than they had been before. They were followed by even louder bangs. Those were guns, Dixie was sure this time. That meant someone must be near the bog outside the opening of the pipe. There were a few more single gunshots. Then it was silent again. Dixie was getting winded. She was hungry, tired and her arm hurt where the man had cut her. And holding the blanket by the corner was making her hand and wrist cramp up. But she kept walking. They all did. They had no other choice.

Soon they saw a tiny it of light filtering in from above. Dixie never thought she would be happy to see a snake, even a dead one. But she was happy to see that one. It meant they were almost out. Then a noise sounded from the mouth of the tunnel. It was a loud long whistle, followed by two short ones. Dixie was so happy she almost started bawling like a baby. Only people in her family knew that hunting call. It had to be one of her parents outside the mouth of the pipe. Dixie sucked in her breath and gave the answer. One short whistle and two long ones. Then she heard her dad yelling her name.

"Dixie!" Her mom's voice was next.

"Do you have your brother and Judith?"

"We have them!," she screamed back. She couldn't make out what was being said after that, it just sounded like a lot of excited people talking at once outside the tunnel, some of the voices were echoing in. Slowly more and more light seemed to fill the tunnel. They hit the end, blinking at the bright sunlight like so many groundhogs. Glenna was helped down first. Then MJ was very carefully lifted out of the pipe. Dixie watched her dads carry him over and set him down gently on the grass. The bodies of the bog walkers were everywhere. The ground was littered with them and a ton more were floating in the bog water. There was a small fire in a tin can, and a stack of the unlit fireworks next to it. Dixie realized all their parents must have used the noise to draw the walkers out of the tunnel and kill them.

Dixie's mom grabbed her down out of the tunnel and hugged her so hard she couldn't breathe. Then she let go and ran for MJ. Dixie's daddy Daryl grabbed her and then she felt herself sandwiched in between her dads, both of them hugging her at once. Her mom was on the ground kissing MJ on his forehead and cheeks. He chose that moment to wake up.

"Ma," he moaned, "ur embarrassin' me, stop makin' such a fuss." He used his hands to wipe away her kisses, just like he had been doing since he was ten. RickyJo sat back on the grass next to him laughing, tears streaming down her face. Dixie's daddy Merle let go of her. He walked over to his son, whipping a flask out of his pocket and handing it to the boy. MJ twisted the cap off, tilting it back and taking as many long swigs as he could before his mom snatched it away from him. He thought she was taking it, but she took a long swig and then handed it back. Daryl still had his arms around his daughter and they turned to watch everyone else being lifted out of the pipe. Rolland took off his pants and handed them to Judith, leaving him in his undershorts and high socks. He picked her up in a bridal carry and she clung to his neck, kissing him and crying into his hair.

Maria's father caught her by the waist and lifted her down, holding her tight to his chest. Lori jumped down and ran for her mom, grabbing her around the waist and lifting the woman up off her feet. Her dad was laughing, waiting for his chance to hold her. Jenny hugged her parents and then Andrew took her into his arms and they started kissing each other hard on the mouth. Hershel's mom was back at camp, but his dad and his brother Shawn were holding him and Glenna tight, tears running down all their faces. Sarah was clinging to her dog and Wolf was licking her face, her tail wagging so hard that her whole furry body was shaking back and forth.

"That's how we found you," Daryl told his daughter, "Wolf showed us the way."


	44. Epilogue

Epilogue Part One

About one year later

 **Eugene**

His back was sore from riding on the hard seat of the horse cart. For the first day, Eugene had been silently curing himself for letting Abraham talk him into going on this trading mission. But Eugene had started having fun that first night around the campfire. And he loved watching the confident way Sarah held the reins and confidently guided the horses over the sometimes rough terrain. He was her father, but he took the definition of the role liberally. Being in an authoritative or disciplinary role had never felt right to him, especially with Sarah. He thought of himself as more of a teacher, someone to provide guidance, or a listening ear when she needed it.

Wolf sat on the seat between them with her ears perked up, watching the woods around their wagon for any possible signs of danger. Once in a while, the dog would leap into the back of the wagon and take off over the side, dashing away into the bushes to explore some unfamiliar scent. Eugene was worried for the dog at first, but Wolf always came back, appearing just as suddenly as she had left. In the middle of the afternoon yesterday, they had come around a bend in the road and she had been sitting by the side of the road a few yards ahead, just waiting for them to catch up with her.

The two wagons were heavily loaded, so the trip was taking a little longer than usual. Eugene only knew this because Sarah told him, he had never made the trip before. Little Lake was a ideal place to live. That was why people had built a camp there in the first place. And Hilltop had been getting more and more crowded for some time now. So when Judith and Rolland left to start a new camp, a fair amount of people ended up going with them. But even with help, setting up a new camp was a lot of hard work. So Carl had been sending them supplies and anything else he thought Alexandria could spare. He was not only doing this because Judith was his sister, but also because Little Lake was surrounded in fruit orchards. They would leave the supplies and drive back with the carts full of fruit.

Besides the fact that she was now in charge of all the trading runs, Sarah had her own reasons for going to Little Lake. The last vistor Alexandria had from there had told her a pair of brothers from out west had settled in the town. They had been driving a big biodiesel semi truck, and on their way across the country, they had been catching all the wild dogs they could find. They had settled down in Little Lake and planned to start breeding them. Sarah was looking to get a mate for Wolf. And since they were bringing so many supplies for the people in the community, she was hoping the men might give her a good pick of whatever puppies they had. Just in case they didn't see it that way, she made sure to bring some personal items for trading.

It was near dark when they finally arrived at their destination. Abraham and Eugene were more than happy to take their old asses to bed, but Maria and Sarah stayed up giggling with Judith, filling her in on all the gossip she had missed from home. Little Lake did not have a doctor yet, so in the morning, Abraham left with Maria to help her check in on anyone that might be in need of medical assistance. So Eugene tagged along with Sarah to pay a visit to the dog breeders. The men had set up their home on the outskirts of the lake. They didn't want to bother other people with all the barking and noise that came from keeping so many dogs around. When they got close, Eugene noticed Sarah signalled Wolf to stay close to her.

The dog always obeyed Sarah, so Eugene was surprised when the dog darted off around the back of the cabin like someone lit a fire under her ass. Sarah cursed and took off running after the dog. When she came around the back of the cabin she saw that Wolf was sitting next to a young man. He had no shirt on and he was bent over a metal horse trough, trying to give a very rambunctious puppies a bath. Wolf scooted closer to the man, licking him on the face.

"Wolf!," Sarah hollered, "get back over here." Wolf ran back to Sarah with her tail tucked between her legs. The silly dog looked so upset about running off, Sarah could barely bring herself to scold her. "Shouldn't be running off like that," she told Wolf half heartedly. Then she bent down to give the dog a scratch behind the ears. The man stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. He was at least a head taller than Sarah, which took her off guard. He had smiling eyes and scruffy blonde facial hair that was a little darker than the hair on his head. He stuck his hand out to her. Sarah put her hand in his

"You must be Sarah?, he asked. Sarah just stood there with her mouth open. Was her name Sarah? That sounded about right. Eugene came to her rescue. He put his arm around her waist.

"Yes, this is my daughter Sarah," he told the man. Then he introduced himself. "Eugene." The man looked from him to Sarah, the way they always did. It always gave Eugene a laugh, he knew that he and Sarah looked nothing alike. So whenever he told someone she was his daughter, they always looked confused. But since her mother wasn't around, the man probably assumed Sarah must favor her in looks.

"I heard you got here yesterday," the man explained to Sarah, "so I was giving the puppies a bath." He still had her hand in his and he looked like he had no intentions of letting it go.

"Oh...," Sarah said like it was the most profound piece of information she had ever been given. Eugene had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He could see the way the two young people were looking at each other. So he made up some flimsy excuse of why he needed to leave that he was pretty sure neither of them even listened to. Then he gave Wolf a pat on the head and headed back towards the main part of town, smiling to himself.

 **Andrew**

Reaching across with his arm, Andrew felt for Jenny's warm body and came up empty. Not only was she not there, her side of their small bed was cold. So she must have gotten up a while ago. Andrew got up and pulled on his pants, the slight rocking motion of the boat not disturbing his movements in the slightest. He came up onto the deck and saw her. She had a big flannel wrapped around her and the edges of it were flapping in the salty morning breeze.

He walked up behind her, kissing the back of her neck and then wrapping his arms around her. She held up one hand, her finger pointing off to one side of the boat. He could see the beachline there.

"Supposed to say Land Ho when you see the beach," he reminded her. Jenny laughed.

"Didn't want to wake you," she answered softly. He kissed her again and then looked for his other boats, counting them up in his mind, making sure that everyone was present and accounted for. Travis waved at him from the deck of the largest boat. Travis was not the only person in high spirits, happy to finally be home. They had come down the coast from the north. The shrimping and lobster fishing up there had been killer this year, and they had plenty of extra food to take to the summer meeting.

They had several new sailors and the small Seaside town they lived in for the coldest months of the year was growing too. Three more mares were expected to have colts soon and one new one had already been born from when they had bred their horses last year in Alexandria. More of the men from Seaside had found wives, and unlike Jenny, most of them chose to stay ashore during the longer boating trips. Andrew still missed Greg, but he didn't blame the man for not coming home with them last year. Not only had he been injured in the fight against the walker herd, he had developed some feelings for the woman that had offered to let him stay with her until he was feeling better.

"Soon we will be man and wife," he reminded Jenny.

"Damn," she joked, "Guess I should stop sleeping around with other guys then, huh?" He swatted at her playfully. Jenny could joke all she liked, he was more than well aware that she had never touched another man since the first time he made love to her. They could have had a quicky wedding before they left her home the year before, but Jenny had not seemed interested. And since he had already gotten her to agree to come home to Seaside with him, Andrew had figured at the time that he better not press his luck with her. He could tell now that she no longer had any doubts about him. And she had taken well to the laid back life they led at his camp. But she liked to pretend she didn't care about getting married. At first it worried him a little. And it had taken him a little time to figure her out. But he had eventually come to the conclusion that she was more like a man when it came to her feelings. She didn't like to talk about them, but she was more than happy to show him exactly how she felt when they were alone.

"You know," Jenny mentioned, trying to sound casual, "it will probably be at least another hour before everyone is up and ready to row in to shore." Then she spun in his arms, twining her hands up in his long hair and letting the wind blow her shirt open to reveal that she had nothing on underneath. Andrew held her close and kissed her until her heard some loud catcalls and cheering from the next boat over.

Since Andrew was the leader, he normally rode on the largest boat, overseeing everything. But for this trip he had taken one of the smaller boats for himself, so he could be alone with Jenny. And this had been the sorce of lots of teasing and friendly jokes directed towards Andrew from his crew. Jenny waved at the guys on the other ship and then took a bow. Andrew grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards the steps that would lead them down under the deck.

 **Beth**

The smell of bacon frying was making her stomach grumble. She was reaching across the table, trying to cut up pancakes for the twins and breastfeed her daughter at the same time. They hadn't even started eating yet and they were already covered in syrup. Beth sighed in relief when she saw Greg come into the kitchen. He headed for the stove first, kissing Maggie while she was cooking the rest of breakfast. And then he took hold of Nicky's chair, shoving him in closer to the table and leaning over him to cut up his pancake so the boy wouldn't make an even bigger mess trying to shove the whole thing into his mouth at once. Beth gave the man a big smile.

When Maggie had moved into Hershel's old room, bringing the man along with her, Beth had been a little apprehensive. Not only was she nervous about having someone she didn't know well living in her home, she was worried her noisy brood might drive the poor man crazy. Beth had been shocked at how good he was with her kids. One day she had asked him about it. A very sad look had come over his face and he had explained to her that he had once been the oldest of six. He had wanted a big family of his own. And his young wife had been pregnant when the outbreak happened. He didn't have to say the rest. Beth knew the ending of the story. That was the day when Beth finally got what was going on between him and Maggie. Maggie had finally found someone that understood her pain.

Rick and Hershel came in the back door, bringing a whoosh of fresh air in from outside. Hershel snatched a piece of bacon from the plate near the stove and came over to get a look at his baby sister.

"Why is she always nursing?," he comlained, "I want to hold her. You know mom, I think you are just hogging her." Beth laughed. She pressed gently on her breast, breaking the suction. Then she closed up her shirt and handed the little girl over to her son. He sat her on the table and rubbed his nose against hers, making her giggle. It had faded, but Beth could still see the small scar on the side of his face where he had been cut the summer before.

"Are you going to cut your hair for the wedding?," Beth asked him.

"Mom! I already told you, Dixie likes my hair like this," he informed her for about the tenth time. Beth rolled her eyes. His hair looked like a mop.

"Maybe she would like it short?," Beth suggested. She could hear Rick laughing into the fridge. He pulled out a pitcher of iced tea and poured himself a glass. Then he came over and refilled Beth's glass without her having to ask. This was the sixth baby he had seen her nurse, he knew by now that the breastfeeding made her extra thirsty. She caught him by the wrist, pulling her husband down so she could kiss him.

"Mom?," Nicky asked, "Is dad going to get you knockered up with another baby?" Hershel and Greg started laughing.

"Where did you hear that?," Rick asked his son.

"From you," the sassy boy informed him. Now Beth was laughing.

"Eat your breakfast," Rick told his son.

 **Daryl**

The horse shifted under him, pawing at the ground with one of it's hooves. He kept a tight hold on the reigns, waiting until everyone else was in position around the herd of cattle. Dixie was on her horse with her bow ready, her tiger crotched next to her. The tiger was huge, already almost two hundred and fifty pounds, and it was still an adolescent. It might weigh in close to four hundred by the time it was done growing. Daryl saw the flash of a red hanky waving at them on the other side of the herd. That meant everyone was where they needed to be.

"Ready baby?," Dixie said softly to the tiger, getting it's attention. Then she used one of the hand signals she had spent the last year teaching the cat. Baby lunged out of the brush, leaping onto the backs of one of the cattle and taking it to the ground. Then gunshots sounded out from all directions. Arrows flew from out of the woods and were buried deep in the heads and hearts of the cows. The rest of the herd took off across the meadow, kicking up a large cloud of dirt. But Daryl knew they had gotten plenty more than what they needed by the time that happened.

Daryl watched his daughter shove her tiger way from the carcass of the cow the big cat had taken down. "Go on Baby, you are tearing up the hide, ya silly cat." He had seen it before, but watching the slim girl shove a tiger that size away from its food still made Daryl's heart jump just a little in his chest. The cat moved off, circled around, and then started rubbing up against Dixie, purring loudly and looking for some attention. Dixie turned and scratched at the cat.

"Ya did a good job Baby," Dixie said, "but you are way too big to be a lap cat." She signalled to the cat. "Go lay down by the horses." The big cat stalked away, laying in the grass near the horse that Daryl had been riding. It rolled on it's back, swiping at the horses tail with its paws. Daryl watched the cat to make sure it did not have its claws out. When he was satisfied that the naughty tiger only planned to annoy his horse, rather than fully molest it, he turned back to the dead cow in front of him.

Lori had something that resembled a large sledge hammer, one of her many metal creations. And she was walking around the field, smashing in the heads of any of the cows that were not all the way dead. Daryl laughed at the girl. He could hear Carl on the walkie, radioing back to his dad in town. The plan was that a smaller group was going out to do the hunting, and then everyone else was going to come out to help them butcher the cows and take them back. RickyJo and Sammie were walking around, pulling the arrows back out of the cows they shot so that they could clean them off and use them again. They were chatting excitedly about the new arrows Lori had made for them and how much deeper they had shot inside the animals.

Once she had her arrows back, RickyJo came striding over, tossing them on the ground near Daryl's pack. She hugged Dixie, rubbing her hand over the girl's stomach. It was still just a tiny hard bump under her clothes, but there was no doubt that a baby was growing inside her. RickyJo looked so happy. She was trying not to drive Dixie too crazy with her excitement about the baby. But anytime someone mentioned it, RickyJo smiled from ear to ear. She jumped up into Daryl's arms, hugging him around the shoulders and wrapping her legs around his waist.

"Steaks tonight?," he asked her. She nipped at his neck.

"I love it when you talk to me about food while I'm tryin' to kiss you," she whispered into his ear, "go on, talk to be about hamburgers." Now they were both laughing. Daryl stepped in a soft spot on the ground. He was off balance already with RickyJo hanging on him and he fell backwards, sending them both tumbling into the grass. Daryl sat up and waved his arm to let Dixie know that they were alright. Dixie was laughing at them. Daryl looked at her stomach, it wasn't really that it was big or round yet, but more like it just wasn't as flat. Then he looked at RickyJo, who was next to him trying to pick the grass out of her hair.

"You know," he said, "we aren't that old. We could have another baby. I'd like to have me a son." RickyJo dropped the chunk of her long hair that she was holding. She turned her head slowly, looking at Daryl like he was the craziest person she had ever seen in her life. It was the look she gave Merle right before she would yell _what the hell have you been smoking_ at him. Daryl could tell that not only was his wife not going to be having another baby, she was absolutely mortified that he would even suggest such a horrible thing. Then she started smiling, like she was trying not to smile. She shook her head, laughing a little now. Then she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him roughly on the side of the mouth.

"You are crazy," she told him, "but I love you."


	45. Epilogue 2

Epilogue Part Two

About another year later

 **RickyJo and Jessica**

Somewhere down on the bottom floor a door slammed shut. RickyJo opened her eyes. There was not enough sunlight coming in through the blinds. For a moment she was scared she overslept, but it was not time to get up yet. Plus Dixie and Hershel were opening up the bar for her today anyway. So it was really not even close to time to get up.

She was snuggled up with her head resting in the crook of Daryl's shoulder, one bare leg and arm draped across him. She could feel Merle's body heat on the other side of her, his good arm around her waist under the sheets, his hand resting on the curve of her hip. Her squeezed her gently, letting her know he was awake. She rolled onto her other side and nuzzled into his chest.

"Whoever slammed that door is getting a boot in the ass," he remarked. Merle had a feeling he knew who it was too, and he was praying that he was wrong. He moved his hand up her back, tracing the line of her spine. Up to the spot where the little raised scars littered the back of her neck and shoulders. With the tip of one finger, he trailed up over the curve of her neck, behind the ear and then cupped her face, running his thumb back and forth feather soft across the old scar there. She tightened her grip around him, pressing her body against his and flinging one leg over his waist. He moved his hand down under her chin, tilting her head back and kissing her softly on the mouth.

"Excited for the summer meeting?," he asked. RickyJo could hear the mocking tone he was using.

"Don't start," she said, trying to keep a straight face. She moved her hands down, gripping his ass and pressing her hips against him, hoping to distract him from where the conversation was going.

"I heard folks from the Kingdom are coming," he said.

"You shush up before Daryl hears you," she hissed.

"He can't hear me, he's sleepin'."

"Never should have told you nothing," RickyJo lamented. Merle had a little laugh and then slid his hand back down under the sheets. Teasing her about Michonne was mildy amusing, mostly because she got so adamant about Daryl not finding out, when he knew well and good that Dary already knew everything. But he had it in mind to have some fun of a different sort with her now. He got a firm grip on her backside and yanked her hips towards him, bucking into her. She put her mouth back on his, kissing him soft at first and then pushing his mouth open with her tounge.

Loud footsteps came fast down the hallway outside their room. And then the bedroom door was flung open rudely, and by someone that had not bothered to knock. RickyJo yanked the sheet up to cover her breasts.

"Get the fuck out MJ," she told the boy. The volume of her voice made Daryl sat straight up in bed. He saw who was in the doorway and flopped back down on his pillow. He pointed to the hall.

"You don't even live here anymore," Daryl reminded his nephew, "get out."

"But Glenna is in labor," he insisted. He stepped into the room and grapsed the bottom edge of the blankets, trying to yank them off and force them all out of bed. RickyJo yanked back on the sheet.

"Stop MJ, we are all fucking naked in here," she hollered.

"Get up Mom, come on!"

"If this is another false alarm," Merle warned the boy, "I am going to punch you right in your face. I fucking mean it this time." This had to be at least the tenth time MJ had rousted everyone from whatever they had been doing for no good reason at all.

"Shut the door so I can get dressed," RickyJo told her son. The door clicked shut. "I meant get out of here first and then shut the door!" MJ removed himself into the hall and shut the door again. RickyJo could tell he was still standing on the other side with his hand on the knob. She yanked her shorts on and grabbed a tshirt from the top of the dresser, pulling it over her head quickly before the door was flung open again.

"Come on mom," MJ hissed at her. Seeing that all her vital parts were covered, MJ darted back into the room and grabbed her by the wrist, dragging her down the hall, down the stairs and into the living room. She spotted Glenna, who was sitting calmly on the couch, showing no signs of being in labor. Her hair was ruffled up around her head and she was wearing a pair of men's flannel pajama bottoms and a long tank top that was stretched down over her swollen belly. She did look a little flushed, but certainly not like she was about to fling a baby out of her vagina at any given moment.

Even though she saw the girl almost everyday, RickyJo was still not quite used to seeing her at half the size she used to be. After she had started getting out and working, doing things around town instead of hiding at home in her room, the weight had flown off of her. Then when she had become pregnant, she had morning sickness that was so severe, she had to stay in the infirmary on and off with IV's in her arms to make sure she didn't get dehydrated. Luckily, that had all passed about the time that she started showing. But it had scared the life out of MJ. He had been hovering over her like a helicopter since then, afraid something else might go wrong. It was cute at first, but RickyJo could tell even Glenna was starting to lose her patience with him.

"I'm not in labor," Glenna announced.

"How do you know?," MJ asked her, "you ever been in labor before?"

"Have you?," she asked him. She let out a loud sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. RickyJo decided she had better try and diffuse the situation before her son was beat to death by his pregnant wife in her living room.

"Why did you think she was in labor?," RickyJo asked him as calmly as she could.

"She was breathing funny," MJ said, looking at Glenna with concern. He looked ready to rush over to the couch and start touching her, so RickyJo got a firm grip on his elbow.

"Of course I was breathing funny, we were in the middle of having sex!," Glenna said loudly. She was past the point of caring who knew what they were doing.

"Yeah, sex can bring on labor," MJ insisted, "I read it in one of those baby books."

"If you bring up one more thing that you read in one of those stupid books I will beat you over the head with one of them," Glenna informed him. MJ looked at her, hie eyes wide, sure that her anger was just one more sign that she might be ready to give birth. RickyJo was having a hard time not laughing. A really hard time.

"MJ," RickyJo said, "she is not in labor." He gave his mother a look that let her know he wasn't quite sure she knew what she was talking about. "Do you remember when Dixie was in labor?" He nodded. "Was she sitting on the couch like that?" MJ thought about it. Dixie had screamed so loud when her baby started coming out she had broke a glass of water sitting next to the bed with her voice. He shook his head. RickyJo led him over to the front door by the elbow. She opened the door.

"Why don't you go down to the bar for awhile and help Dixie," she suggested. Then she turned him around and bascially shoved him out the front door onto the porch. "I can keep an eye on Glenna." Without waiting for his response, she shut the door. Glenna was peeking out between the blinds, making sure he left.

"I am so sorry...," she started to say. RickyJo waved her off.

"Just imagine there were two of him," she said to the girl. Glenna thought about that, getting a mental picture of it in her mind. Then she smiled. "At least you get a break when he goes to the bathroom," RickyJo added. She pointed up the stairs, "they took turns watching me when I was pregnant with Dixie." Glenna started laughing. RickyJo walked over to the couch, offering the girl her hand to help her up. "Lets go into the kitchen and I will make us some tea."

"How did you stand that shit?," Glenna asked the other woman.

"He means well honey," RickyJo reminded her. Glenna sighed again.

"I know." RickyJo hugged her gently, patting her back.

"Not too much longer. The baby will be here before you know it." They walked into the kitchen together. Jessica was at the table shelling the last of the soup peas. Her eyes were red rimmed and she looked like she had been up for a while.

RickyJo got some water on for tea and then walked over to Jess, putting her hand on her shoulder to offer her some support. She didn't have to ask what was wrong, she already knew. It was Morgan. They were all looking older. But he was really looking old. He had arthritis so bad in his hands now that he couldn't tie his own shoes. And it was Jenny. Jessica missed her something terrible. It got the worst right before the summer meeting when Jessica was waiting to see if they were coming or not. Jenny intended to come back for a visit every year, but there was always a possibility that something might happened that was out of her control.

Glenna reached into the bowl, peeling the little hard ends off the pod before popping the pod open and dumping the peas into another bowl. Then she arched back in the chair, rubbing her lower back with her hands. Jessica got up and started rubbing the girl's back for her. Glenna put her arms on the table and laid her head down on them, moaning softly.

"You know we have that big whirlpool tub upstairs and most of the jets on it still work," RickyJo mentioned. Glenna's head popped up. The tub at their house was shallow. She had been taking hot showers, letting the water run over her back, but a bath sounded amazing.

"You don't mind if I take a bath at your house?," she asked.

"Course not. Just make sure to lock the door, people in this house don't knock." Glenna laughed. She had noticed that since she and Hershel were living with MJ and Dixie now. MJ and Dixie never knocked. And if they caught you naked or doing something embarrasing, they did not care. "Go on up, when your tea is ready I'll bring it up, and if MJ comes back I'll tell him you went home." Glenna got up from the table and hugged RickyJo before she headed upstairs.

The backdoor flung open and Dixie came in, carrying her daughter on her hip. Her tiger stalked in behind her, heading for the living room to lay down in it's favorite spot next to the playpen.

"I gotta nurse Jewel and then I was going to lay her down for a nap," Dixie said, "Is it okay if I leave her here so I don't have put her to sleep in the bar?"

"Of course it's alright," RickyJo told her. She leaned down to smile at the baby. Hershel had picked her name, from an old world singer his mom liked. And RickyJo had to admit, it fit the baby perfectly. She had big sapphire eyes, blond curls and a full pouty little baby mouth. Dixie had been a beautiful baby, but even she had not been this pretty.

"Don't let Daddy Daryl wake her up to play with her," Dixie warned.

"I will do my best," RickyJo promised. Dixie gave her a dirty look. "You know how he gets," her mother reminded her. Dixie headed into the living room, mumbling that what he was gonna get was her foot in his ass if he didn't let her baby get some sleep. That made Jessica laugh. But even her laughter had a sad quality to it. RickyJo sat down next to her and threw her arm around her cousin. She pulled her close and kissed her forehead.

"I love you Jess."

"I love you too."

RickyJo took Jessica's hand in hers. She thought about the long road they had travelled to get this far and everything they had been through. Some of it happened so long ago it seemed like it happened to someone else. Surely Jess could not have been the same girl that got dressed up to wait for Merle and his brother to show up and sell them weed. And RickyJo, in that tight sundress that her nana had tricked her into wearing because she was being set up on a blind date she didn't know about. They had both changed so much, but one thing had always remained constant. RickyJo pulled Jess into her arms again, patting her back and smoothing her hair down. She spoke softly to her, saying something she knew in her heart was true. "As long as we are together, everything is going to be alright."

 **** I just want to say a big thanks to everyone that read and reviewed. I try not to put too many author's notes since I want the story to read like a real book. But I loved getting everyone's reviews. I and excited and also a little sad that the story is over, and I hoped you all enjoyed reading it as much as I loved writing it. ****


End file.
